NBC Sports' presentation of Saturday's Kentucky Derby averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 16.7 million viewers, the largest Derby audience since 18.5 million viewers watched Sunday Silence's 1989 victory on ABC, according to figures released by the network Sunday.
Viewership peaked at 20.1 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. ET, as Mystik Dan edged Sierra Leone and 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.
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.
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).
NBC Sports and Churchill Downs Saturday announced an extension to their partnership, with NBC and Peacock continuing to be the media home of the Kentucky Derby through 2032.
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