Record Numbers of NYC Marathon TV Viewers

Viewership was up 66 percent compared to the 2011 edition of the race.

According to a press release from the New York Road Runners, more people than ever watched the New York City Marathon last weekend on local television channel ABC7.

The release says 582,000 people watched the five-hour broadcast, a 66 percent increase from the 2011 edition of the race. This year’s figure even bettered the 2010 event, which featured the highly publicized finish of the Chilean miner.

In addition to television, another 145,000 viewers tuned in to 7online.com.

“ESPN’s Hannah Storm and John Anderson hosted the race broadcast on ABC7,” the release says. “Viewership for the professional portion of the race from 9:30 a.m. to noon averaged 661,000 total viewers and peaked at 850,000 viewers as Priscah Jeptoo and Geoffrey Mutai pulled away from their packs and headed toward the finish line.”

The New York City Marathon was canceled last year due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

For More: New York Road Runners