"Run for The Roses" Most-Watched Since 1989

NBC Sports’ presentation of the 150th Kentucky Derby, a thriller won by Mystik Dan, averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 16.7 million viewers – marking the largest Kentucky Derby audience since 1989 (18.5 million viewers on ABC, won by Sunday Silence).

Viewership peaked at 20.1 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. ET, as Mystik Dan edged second-place Sierra Leone and third-place Forever Young in the Kentucky Derby’s first three-horse photo finish since 1947. Saturday’s peak audience was the largest ever for an NBC Sports presentation of the Kentucky Derby.

Led by Peacock, the “Run for the Roses” posted NBC Sports’ largest streaming audience for a horse racing event with an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 714,000 viewers – nearly doubling last year (371,000).

NBC Sports has averaged 15+ million viewers across all platforms for 11 of the last 15 Kentucky Derby races held in May (2009-2024, excludes 2020 Covid-impacted event which was moved to September).

Yesterday, NBC Sports and Churchill Downs announced an extension to their historic partnership, with NBC and Peacock continuing to be the media home of the Kentucky Derby through 2032. With the extension, NBCUniversal will become the first media company to present the most prestigious event in horse racing for three decades (32 editions of the Kentucky Derby from 2001-32).

Additional Kentucky Derby viewership notes:

• With 16.7 million viewers, the 2024 Kentucky Derby marks a 13% increase from last year’s event (14.8 million) and will rank as NBC’s most-watched program since the NFL Divisional Playoffs in January.
• The NBC-TV household rating for the broadcast (6:31-7:24 p.m. ET) was 7.5/27 – up 9% from last year. The 27 share is the highest ever for an NBC Sports Kentucky Derby presentation.
• Total Audience Delivery is based upon live-plus-same day fast national figures from Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

149TH PREAKNESS STAKES ON NBC AND PEACOCK, MAY 18: Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan has been invited to take the next step towards the Triple Crown at the Preakness Stakes, in two weeks on Saturday, May 18. NBC Sports’ coverage of the 149th Preakness Stakes from Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, Md., begins with the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes on Friday, May 17, at 4:30 p.m. ET on Peacock. NBC Sports presents the 149th Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 18, at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, with coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET on CNBC and Peacock.