LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Daytona 500 and NBA All-Star Game posted audience gains on Sunday despite going up against the Winter Olympics.
Tyler Reddick’s win in the Daytona 500 drew an average of 7.49 million viewers on Fox, up 11% from last year. It was the most-watched NASCAR season opener since 2023, when 8.17 million viewers tuned in.
It was also the most-watched non-Olympic sporting event last week, according to Nielsen.
The audience peaked at 9.15 million for the finish.
The race also did not have a rain delay for the first time in three years, which helped bring in more viewers. Last year, the race was delayed for more than three hours, and the 2024 race was moved to Monday.
The NBA All-Star Game on NBC averaged 6.73 million viewers, but the total audience across NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo was 8.8 million, according to Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.
It was the most-watched NBA All-Star Game since 2011, which was also in Los Angeles and averaged 9.1 million.
This was the first time since 2002 that the All-Star Game was shown on network television. From 2003 to 2025, it was shown on TNT.
The total viewership was an 87% increase over last year (4.7 million). It peaked at 9.8 million viewers from 7-7:15 p.m. Eastern for the closing minutes of the USA Stripes’ 48-45 victory over the World team.
The All-Star Game aired between NBC's afternoon and prime time Olympics coverage.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Sat, 2/28, 1-4 pm Congregational Church, San Mateo and Sun, 3/1, 10am-noon, First Presbyteri… Read moreHEAR NATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION - AND DEMOCRACY - ADVOCATE REV. JIM ANTAL IN SAN MATEO AND PALO ALTO
With playing described as “stylish and full of fire,” Ensemble Mirable has captivated listen… Read moreEnsemble Mirable: Baroque Masterpieces on period instruments
“Powerful, moving, and exhilarating” Read moreSongs For A New World
Exclusive film screening in San Mateo Read moreA LITTLE FELLOW: THE LEGACY OF A.P.GIANNINI
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.