NBC Sports' 25th presentation of the Kentucky Derby delivered an NBC Sports-record average of 17.7 million viewers on NBC and Peacock–marking the largest Kentucky Derby audience since 1989 (18.5 million viewers, won by Sunday Silence) and a 6% increase from last year (16.7 million viewers for Mystik Dan's victory in a three-horse photo finish).
Viewership peaked at 21.8 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. ET, as Sovereignty ran to a 1 1/2-length victory over Journalism. The peak audience was the largest ever for an NBC Sports presentation of the Kentucky Derby (up 8% from 20.1 million last year).
Led by Peacock, the “Run for the Roses” posted NBC Sports' largest streaming audience for a horse racing event with an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 959,000 viewers–up 34% from last year (714,000) and nearly tripling 2023 (371,000).
NBC Sports has averaged 15+ million viewers across all platforms for 10 of the last 12 Kentucky Derby races held in May (2013-2024, excludes 2020 COVID-impacted event which was moved to September).
With 17.7 million viewers (6:33-7:24 p.m. ET), the 2025 Kentucky Derby will rank as NBC's most-watched Saturday program since the NFL Wild Card Playoffs in January 2024 (excluding Paris Olympics).
NBC Sports presents the 150th Preakness Stakes on Saturday, May 17, at 4 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, with coverage beginning at 2 p.m. ET on CNBC and Peacock.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
