TV Ratings: Homestead finale better, but doesn't cure ills

Jimmie Johnson's record-tying seventh Sprint Cup championship drew a 3.3 overnight rating and about 6 million viewers on NBC and NBCSN Sunday afternoon – a total that saw viewership continue to fall but which snapped one unfortunate streak of declines.

On the plus side for NASCAR, Homestead is the third-highest-rated finale since 2009. Last year's race drew a 4.42 rating with 7.6 million viewers – the highest for in a decade according to SportsBusiness Journal – in part because Jeff Gordon's final race had a rain delay that pushed it to prime-time NFL pregame window. The second-highest-rated race since 2009 was Tony Stewart's title run in 2011 (4 rating, 6.8 million viewers).

NBC Sports Group said Sunday's race peaked at a 4.8 rating and 8.4 million viewers from 6:45-7 p.m. ET, four million fewer viewers and one full hour earlier than last year's race (12.4 million from 7:45-7:56 p.m.). It was also NASCAR's highest overnight since Talladega in May and up from a 2.9 overnight in 2014, when it aired on ESPN for the final time.

According to Sports Media Watch, while Homestead was the 12th straight race to see a decline from last year's numbers (11 straight of which saw double-digit losses) it snaps an 11-race streak of all-time or decade-plus low numbers.

In addition, 158,000 viewers used NASCAR Hot Pass, a multi-camera online live stream that broadcast audio and video from the driver's in-car camera.

Overall, 21 of the 29 Sprint Cup races that can be compared to last year declined in ratings and 22 declined in viewership, SMW reports. Fifteen dropped double-digits in one or both measures.

NBC Sports Group reports that the Sprint Cup Series on NBC and NBCSN averaged 6.08 million viewers and posted a combined 3.51 national HH rating, marking increases of +16% (vs. 5.22 million) and +12% (vs. 3.14 HH), respectively, over 2014's presentation on ESPN.

Saturday's Xfinity Series championship finale on NBCSN drew a 0.84 rating and 1.34 million viewers. NBC says it's the series' best showing on NBC Sports Digital; with 1.04 million live minutes streamed, the traffic was a 163% increase compared to last year's championship race. Last year's race earned a 1.21 rating with 1.8 million viewers on NBC.