ESPN’s live television broadcast of Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday averages 1.1 million viewers, the largest audience ever for the event on US television (Nilsen Big Dating + per panel). The race began shortly after the 7am ET.
The audience rose from the previous 970,000 record for the 2021 race. Last year’s race averaged 865,000 viewers when the race first took place in September, which was held at the beginning of the season.
The race averaged 420,000 viewers in the demographic ages 18-49.
Of the 17 F1 races held so far up to this season, all but one (Miami) saw an increase in viewership ratings year-over-year, with 11 of the 17 (Australia, China, Monaco, Spain, Canada, Austria, UK, Netherlands, Italy and Azerbaijan) gaining record-breaking audiences for the event.
All of ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, Formula 1 races average 1.4 million viewers, ahead of the 2022 US TV record average of 121 million.
