NBC Sports' presentation of the 150th Kentucky Derby (G1), a thriller won by Mystik Dan, averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 16.7 million viewers—marking the largest Kentucky Derby audience since 1989 (18.5 million viewers on ABC).
Viewership peaked at 20.1 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. ET, as Mystik Dan edged second-place Sierra Leone and third-place 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.
Led by Peacock, the "Run for the Roses" posted NBC Sports' largest streaming audience for a horse racing event with an Average Minute Audience of 714,000 viewers—nearly doubling last year (371,000).
NBC Sports has averaged 15 million-plus viewers across all platforms for 11 of the last 15 Kentucky Derby races held in May.
NBC Sports and Churchill Downs announced an extension to their historic partnership May 4, with NBC and Peacock continuing to be the media home of the Kentucky Derby through 2032. With the extension, NBCUniversal will become the first media company to present the most prestigious event in horse racing for three decades.
Additional Kentucky Derby viewership notes:
- 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.
