Flyover for the 101st Indianapolis 500. [Andy Clary Photo]
INDIANAPOLIS, Wednesday, July 12, 2017 – Overall United States radio listenership of the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil grew 43 percent from 2016 on the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network, according to a recent research study.
The study from GfK Custom Research showed 20.5 million radio listeners in America tuned into all or part of the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on Sunday, May 28, won by Takuma Sato after an exciting late-race duel with three-time “500” winner Helio Castroneves.
“Increased ratings show the continued, enduring appeal of the Indianapolis 500 and also are a testament to the talent and hard work of everyone on the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network team,” said Wally Leavitt, IMS Radio Network general manager. “Our numbers were strong for the landmark 100th race in May 2016, and it’s very gratifying to see even higher figures this year.
“Thanks to everyone who tuned into this year’s race, which featured plenty of buzz with the debut of Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso and 500 miles of fantastic, wheel-to-wheel action producing a popular new winner in Takuma Sato.”
The average quarter-hour rating of the 2017 Race Day broadcast was 2.71, growth of 75 percent over the 100th edition of the race in 2016. That quarter-hour rating represents more than 8.8 million listeners during any point of the broadcast.
More than 350 terrestrial radio stations in the United States and Canada carried the 101st edition of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” on May 28, an increase of 5 percent over 2016.
Visit IMS.com to apply for tickets for the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil on Sunday, May 27, 2018 and to buy tickets for the remaining races in 2017 at the Racing Capital of the World – the Brantley Gilbert Big Machine Brickyard 400 and Lilly Diabetes 250, the 2017 SCCA National Championship Runoffs and the Red Bull Air Race.
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