Historic Kentucky Derby 148 peaks at 19 million viewers

The 148th running of the Kentucky Derby was among the most-watched sporting events in recent years — fourth-most among non-football and Olympic events since 2020, to be exact. It was also among the historic event’s most-watched in 33 years.

The Derby averaged 15.79 million viewers on NBC — 16.0 million including streaming services — good for the highest rating in three years (2019, 16.34M). It was also the event’s seventh-largest audience since 1989, with ratings and viewership up 8% from last year across all platforms.

Viewership peaked at 19.0 million viewers immediately following the race between 7-7:15 p.m. ET, the largest peak audience since 2017. That came shortly after 80-1 longshot Rich Strike shocked the world by becoming the second-longest shot winner of all time, behind only Donerail (91-1) in 1913. The 19.0 million viewers tops the peak of 18.5 million for the post-race disqualification of Maximum Security three years ago.

Beyond the live race itself, the overhead angle of Rich Strike’s come-from-behind victory has generated nearly 40 million views, more than any Kentucky Derby video posted to NBC’s social media platforms.

The overhead view makes Rich Strike's comeback for the upset @KentuckyDerby win look even more incredible. 😮 #KyDerby | @ChurchillDowns pic.twitter.com/iDfkGVZS0O

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) May 8, 2022

Not counting football and Olympic events, only three NCAA men’s Final Four games surpassed the Derby’s total average viewership since 2020: North Carolina-Duke (17.66M) and Kansas-North Carolina (17.05M) this year and Baylor-Gonzaga last year (17.08M).

Unsurprisingly, Louisville led all markets with a 28.5 rating, with 63% of all in-use televisions in the city tuned in. Ft. Myers, Florida ranked second with an 18.7 rating (41%), followed by Cincinnati (16.2, 45%) and West Palm Beach (14.3, 36%). Baltimore (33%) and Buffalo (29%) both finished with an 11.5 rating.

WHERE DID HE COME FROM!?

Rich Strike (80-1) comes down the stretch to score one of the biggest upset wins in @KentuckyDerby history. #KyDerby pic.twitter.com/NPsYvPauVc

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) May 7, 2022