NBC Sports' milestone 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).
Total Audience Delivery is based upon live-plus-same day custom fast national figures from Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics. Official metrics will be available on Tuesday.
150TH PREAKNESS STAKES ON NBC AND PEACOCK, MAY 17
Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty has been invited to take the next step towards the Triple Crown at the Preakness Stakes, in two weeks on Saturday, May 17. NBC Sports' coverage of the 150th Preakness Stakes from Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, Md., begins with the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes on Friday, May 16, at 4:30 p.m. ET on Peacock. 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.
