On the rise: NBC flips script on Indy 500 TV ratings

INDIANAPOLIS – The backslide is over. For the first time in four years, overnight TV ratings for the Indianapolis 500 are up year over year. 

According to NBC, in its first year of broadcasting the race, the 500 delivered a 3.86 Nielsen overnight rating, up about 15% over last year's 3.4 — the final race broadcast by ABC.

More NBC:

NBC will combine magic of television with majesty of race to produce its first Indy 500

People watching the Indy 500 on NBC are sick and tired of all the commercials

Heading into Sunday, overnight ratings for the 500 had been on the decline for four straight years, delivering a 4.3 in 2015, a 4.1 in 2016, and a 3.6 in 2017 before last year's 3.4. 

The overnight Nielsen rating does not include digital consumption. That total and final viewership are expected to be revealed later today. 

According to NBC, the overnight rating peaked in the final quarter-hour at 4.56 when Simon Pagenaud outdueled Alexander Rossi to win his first Indy 500. This was the highest overnight for a Sunday afternoon sports event on NBC in more than four months (Jan. 6, NFL Wild Card, 22.9). It was also the highest overnight for any sports event of the day. 

Despite the local blackout, Indianapolis-area fans owned the biggest chunk of the overnight rating, delivering a 10.98 household rating by watching the tape-delayed version Sunday night. Dayton was second in household rating with a 9.77, followed by Sacramento-Stockton, Calif. (7.97), Cincinnati (7.34), Ft. Myers-Naples, Fla. (7.3), West Palm Beach, Fla. (6.94), Louisville (6.77), Columbus, Ohio (6.36), Richmond, Va., and Tulsa, Okla. (6.18).

Follow IndyStar Motorsports Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram: @jimayello.