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Exclusive broadcasting partner FOX released the official viewership numbers for the 2025 IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 15, 2025. The numbers were shocking compared to the other sports events held in the second week of April. Let's take a look at the poor viewership records and compare them to NASCAR, F1, and The Masters.
According to FOX’s tweet, the average viewership for the Long Beach GP was 552,000 viewers, an 80% increase over the average viewership from 2024. The 2024 Long Beach Grand Prix averaged 307,000 viewers and was broadcast on USA Network.
FOX also revealed that IndyCar has averaged 895,000 viewers during the first three races of the season, which is 189,000 viewers more than the 2024 average for the same duration. Yet, all of this was subsided by the viewership numbers of the other sporting events.
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According to Sports Business Journal reporter Adam Stern's tweet, the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway had 2.054 million viewers on Fox Sports 1 whereas the first major golf tournament of the year, The Masters held at the Augusta National Golf Course averaged 12.99 million viewers.
ESPN's Andy Hall also tweeted that the Bahrain GP, held on the same day as the IndyCar Long Beach Grand Prix, averaged 1.3 Million viewers, which was an increase from the 1.1 million average viewership the previous year. The F1 race peaked at 1.5 million viewers.
While it was a positive weekend for IndyCar compared to the last race at Thermal Club where the viewership dropped considerably compared to the 2024 race, as well as the season opener at St. Petersburg, it is still a point of concern when comparing it to other sporting events.
What's even more worrying is the fact that the 2025 Long Beach GP was the 50th Anniversary race at the circuit, and is one of the most iconic street races in the US, yet the viewers decided to skip to watch the other events.
Exploring IndyCar viewership since the season opener at St. Petersburg
The season opener IndyCar race at St. Petersburg averaged over 1.4 Million viewers, which was a 45% increase over the 2024 event which averaged 975,000 viewers. However, it all went downhill at the second race of the season at Thermal Club.
The 2025 race at the Thermal Club averaged 704,000 viewers, nearly a 50% drop in comparison to the season opener. There was also an 11% decrease in viewership compared to last year's race at the private racecourse.
The Long Beach GP further faced a plummeted viewership compared to the Thermal Club race, with a 30% decrease compared to the last race. Many factors could've played into the poor viewership, but the major one was the scheduling of IndyCar races alongside NASCAR and other big sporting events like the Masters.
