NBC Sports’ presentation of the 150th Kentucky Derby (G1), a thriller won Mystik Dan averaged a Total Audience of 16.7 million viewers—marking the largest Kentucky Derby audience since 1989 (18.5 million viewers on ABC).
Viewership peaked at 20.1 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. ET, as Mystik Dan took second place Sierra Leone and third place Youth forever in the Kentucky Derby’s first three-horse photo finish since 1947. Saturday’s peak audience was the largest ever for the NBC Sports presentation of the Kentucky Derby.
Led by Peacock, “Run for the Roses” attracted NBC Sports’ largest streaming audience for a horse racing event with an Average Minute Audience of 714,000 viewers — nearly double last year (371,000).
NBC Sports has averaged more than 15 million viewers across all platforms for 11 of the last 15 Kentucky Derby races held in May.
NBC Sports and Churchill Downs announced the extension of their historic partnership on May 4, with NBC and Peacock continuing as media houses of the Kentucky Derby through 2032. With the extension, NBCUniversal will becoming the first media company to present the most prestigious event in horse racing in three decades.
Additional notes on Kentucky Derby viewership:
- With 16.7 million viewers, the 2024 Kentucky Derby marks a 13% increase over last year’s event (14.8 million) and will rank as NBC’s most-watched show since the NFL Playoffs Divisional in January.
- NBC-TV’s household ratings for the broadcast (6:31-7:24 p.m. ET) were 7.5/27 — up 9% from last year. The 27th share was the highest ever for the NBC Sports Kentucky Derby presentation.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
