MAVTV reports best-ever rating for Chili Bowl

The live broadcast by MAVTV of the 2015 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire on Saturday night, Jan. 17, was the highest-rated show in the network's history. Known as "the Super Bowl of midget racing," MAVTV's 4-hour broadcast (8:30-12:30 a.m. ET) from Tulsa, Okla., held the attention of hard-core grass roots racing fans who tuned into the broadcast and used social media to spread the word.

Rentrak rating reports confirmed the record-breaking numbers in both households and average audience. Conservative peak numbers showed over a million people watching the largest indoor midget race in the world.

In addition to the high ratings for the network, the Chili Bowl created a social media storm. For about an hour during the broadcast, the Chili Bowl was "trending" on Twitter, officially making it one of the top-10 topics being discussed at the time. Not only were thousands of fans tweeting about the Chili Bowl, but motorsport icons and teams joined the conversation, including: Clint Bowyer, Danica Patrick, Jamie McMurray, Regan Smith, Brad Keselowski, Chip Ganassi Racing and Toyota Racing. MAVTV's Facebook page reached a benchmark 2.2 million users during the broadcast, eclipsing the previous mark by double. Finally, on the day of the Chili Bowl airing, the MAVTV.com website had over ten times the usual number of page views compared to an average day.

The initial airing was so successful that MAVTV is repeating an edited, two-hour version every Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. ET in March.

MAVTV President Bob Patison said, "A live show like the Chili Bowl is a huge undertaking, but our viewers overwhelming told us they wanted it live, so we gave it to them and they responded in grand fashion. I am proud of the show we produced, the sponsor support and for the incredible audience response. It was a win-win for everyone."