ABC’s Monaco Grand Prix Broadcast Nets Largest Live U.S. Audience

ABC’s Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix broadcast drew 1.79 million average viewers, the largest live U.S. audience ever for the race. It was also the third-largest live U.S. audience on record for any Formula 1 race.

Sunday’s race was the first Monaco Grand Prix to be broadcasted live on ABC. In years past, Disney chose to air the race live on ESPN or ESPN2 before showing it later in the day on tape delay on ABC, given the undesirable 9 a.m. ET start time of the Monaco Grand Prix. 

Disney’s decision to show the Monaco Grand Prix live on ABC is part of the company’s emphasis commitment to Formula 1 following its three-year media rights renewal last year. Formula 1 races are averaging 1.27 million viewers so far this season across ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC, up five percent over Disney’s 2022 full-season average of 1.21 million.

Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix viewership outperformed last year’s 1.6 million average viewers on ESPN. This year’s coverage included a Saturday qualifying event on ESPN that scored 818,000 viewers and a Sunday afternoon re-air of the Monaco Grand Prix on ABC, which averaged 564,000 viewers. 

ABC’s live broadcast of the Miami Grand Prix in early May drew 1.96 million average viewers, making it the second-largest live audience for an F1 race in U.S. history. The record is held by last year’s 2022 Miami Grand Prix on ABC, with 2.6 million average viewers tuning in for that inaugural race.