A few comments on this site surrounded the question of why ESPN is considered so dominant when very few of its programs finish in the top ten in cable television ratings.
Children’s shows typically dominate the top ten cable broadcasts in a given week, usually joined by WWE wrestling. It is rare to find a sports broadcast, on ESPN or otherwise, in the top ten. In fact, February’s NBA All Star Game was the first of any of the major sports (pro and college football, pro and college basketball, baseball, auto racing, or hockey) to finish in the top ten this year.
Sports are generally not a huge draw. One need only look at the regular season averages for baseball, basketball and hockey last year. Major League Baseball on FOX drew a 2.4 rating during the regular season last year, while the NBA on ABC finished with a 2.2. On a weekly basis, anywhere from 2 to 3 million people tune into these major sports — a very small audience, especially when compared to the weekly numbers for prime time network series.
The low ratings for sporting events are a relatively new phenomenon. As recently as 1998, a regular season NBA game between the Bulls and the Knicks drew an 8.0/14 on a Sunday afternoon on NBC — higher than or equal to four of the six 2006 NBA Finals games and one 2006 World Series game.
Sports are no longer a mainstream draw. Now more than ever, sports are a niche, far below reality shows on the television totem pole. That’s why this year, only a combined seventeen early round playoff games from the NBA and Major League Baseball will air on network television (10 NBA Playoff games on ABC, and potentially 7 LCS games on FOX).
The numbers are bad on broadcast and worse on cable. Out of baseball, the NBA, NHL and college basketball, only Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN managed to average a 2.0 regular season rating. Most baseball, NBA, college basketball and hockey games draw ratings in the very low 1s; ESPN bragged about the major rating increase for Monday Night Baseball, when the numbers simply improved from a 0.8 to a 1.2.
With all of that said, one must consider the profitability of a sports broadcast. Sports broadcasts attract the elusive 18-34 male demographic — one of the most important demographics to advertisers. Children’s shows like SpongeBob Squarepants may draw ratings equal to NBA and baseball playoff games, but the demographic watching is not nearly as important as the demo watching sporting events.
Even the lowest rated NHL game still attracts a valuable audience, an audience much more valuable than the one watching The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. In other words, ESPN shows and events may not finish in the top ten or even close (one would be hard-pressed to find an episode of PTI or Around the Horn that drew over a 1.0 rating), but within that small audience is exactly what advertisers are paying for.
