A lot of eyes on Daytona
Daytona 500 ratings up 3 percent from last year
Posted: Saturday February 27, 1999 08:12 PM
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Gordon's victory Sunday at Daytona brought in a 7.9 TV rating. Andy Lyons/Allsport |
NEW YORK (CNN/SI) -- With its history of last-lap crashes and spectacular finishes, it's no surprise that the Daytona 500 is the most-watched auto race on television.
The 41st edition lived up to its billing Sunday with Jeff Gordon's barely-there victory over defending race champion Dale Earnhardt. The 1999 race enjoyed a 7.9 overnight rating and a 20 share, up 3 percent from last year's overnight rating of 7.7/19.
That showing tied the 1999 race statistics with the 1992 and 1994 races, which received the same 7.9 overnight rating. CBS, which televised the Daytona 500, was the benefitting network.
The Daytona 500 has outrated the Indy 500 for three straight years. The last three Indy 500s have averaged a 5.7 national mark' Daytona's national number won't be available until Thursday.
The auto race wasn't CBS' only winner this weekend.
The final round of the Buick Invitational, won by Tiger Woods, had a 6.4 overnight rating, up 64 percent from last season's tournament on NBC.
The rating is the percentage of TV households in the nation tuned to a program, and each point represents 994,000 homes. The share is the percentage tuned to a program among those televisions on at the time.
Overnights are based on 44 major markets.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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