SailGP posts record viewership for second consecutive U.S. broadcast program
NEW YORK CITY – November 16, 2022 – SailGP has delivered historic ratings for the second time in a row highlighting that the initial record-breaking figures from last month were no accident. A CBS broadcast on November 13, featuring the Spain Sail Grand Prix presented by NEAR, topped the previous record*, averaging 1.636 million viewers for the show.
The viewership numbers – which increased by 27k viewers on the previous show figures – bolsters SailGP’s rapid growth as it expands its breakthrough racing product in the U.S. market.
SailGP CEO Russell Coutts said: “This really does give us confidence in the property we are creating and shows the importance of developing a fan-centric broadcast offer with innovative technology – such as our patented, Emmy-award winning LiveLineFX broadcast graphics – to help the viewer truly understand the racing.
“It is exciting news given our Season 3 Grand Final in San Francisco in May, and then the launch of Season 4 with our June event in Chicago. Our hope is that it won’t just be fans watching from their living rooms, but turning out to cheer on the US team in person.”
*SailGP on Sunday, 11/13/22 averaged 1.636m viewers on CBS – beating its own target set on Sunday 10/23/22 with an average of 1.609m viewers – making that the most-watched sailing race since 1992 (3.266m viewers for America’s Cup on ABC on 5/9/1992 from 3:00-6:00pm).
Source: Nielsen NTI, Pre-DVR (05/09/92-12/25/05), LIVE+SD (12/26/05-11/13/22)