News Richard Craill May 6, 2019 (Comments off) (543)

RATINGS WATCH: Pirtek Perth SuperNight

TEN plus FOX means big numbers for prime-time Supercars viewing as the series heads West.

IMAGES: Supercars

IF THE FUTURE of Supercars is night racing then the category, TV companies and sponsors alike will be pretty happy.

Channel 10’s decision to show the Pirtek Perth SuperNight live on both Friday and Saturday paid off big-time, with the network drawing strong numbers for their first-look at prime-time Supercars racing.

Meanwhile, FOX Sports continued their uptick in numbers this year with the combined figures making Perth’s two races among the most watched of 2019.

A combined metro audience of 357,000 watched Friday night’s race on 10 / Fox.

Against two significant Friday night football events on Seven (AFL) and Nine (NRL) Supercars did well to be the third most-watched sport of the night.

The AFL clash between Collingwood and Port Adelaide drew 765,000 on 7 & FOX while the League’s Friday Night Footy clash shown on both free-to-air and Pay TV was watched by 643,000.

Friday night footy, regardless of code, is the highest rated sports night of the week so for Supercars to be third in that company will be seen as a big positive.

FOX Sports’ Friday night number of 131,000 was up from 120,000 for Race 11 of the championship in 2018, held on a Saturday afternoon.

444,000 watched Race 12 on Saturday night, making it the second-most watched sporting event on TV on Saturday.

The AFL drew 506,000 for the Saturday night clash between Richmond and Scott McLaughlin’s Western Bulldogs to head the list, while the only other game shown on both FTA and Pay was the AFL Eagles v Suns clash, seen by 225,000.

183,000 watched Race 12 on FOX Sports. 184,000 watched 2018’s race 12 on a Sunday afternoon, but more relevant is the fact that 175,000 watched the Sydney SuperNight race last August.

FOX Sports’ ratings are up on average 16% this year with only three of 12 races rating lower than last year’s equivalent at the same circuit.

The results mean Race 12 was the third-most watched Supercars race of the year (behind the Adelaide 500 Sunday race and the Australian Grand Prix finale’) and Race 11 the fifth most-watched.

SOURCES: TV Tonight, Mediaweek, TV Black Box.

(NOTE: Numbers are overnight metro (5 capital city) and Foxtel ratings supplied by the ratings agency to media outlets and do not include any additional reporting including time shifted content or broader reach. They also do not include streaming numbers on Kayo or SuperView, etc).

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