The Little League World Series ended on a low note last weekend.
Sunday’s Japan/Hawaii Little League World Series Championship Game drew a 2.0 final rating and 3.042 million viewers on ABC, down 17% in ratings and 21% in viewership from California/Taiwan last year (2.4, 3.872 mil), down 5% and 7%, respectively, from Hawaii/Mexico in ’08 (2.1, 3.256 mil) and down 39% and 40%, respectively, from Georgia/Japan in ’07 (3.3, 5.028 mil).
Excluding the rained out ’06 game, this marks the lowest rated Little League World Series Championship Game since at least 1997 (ratings prior to ’98 were not available).
To put the numbers in perspective, the game drew a 4.1 rating as recently as 2003 and a 5.9 as recently as 2001.
On Saturday, the Hawaii/Texas U.S. Championship drew a 1.8 and 2.737 million viewers, up 157% and 165%, respectively, from California/Texas last year (0.7, 1.032 mil). That game aired in the evening on ESPN2.
Compared to past U.S. Championship games on ABC, Saturday’s rating was up 20% from Hawaii/Louisiana in ’08 (1.5), but down 18% from Georgia/Texas in ’07 (2.2).
Earlier in the day, ABC drew a 1.4 and 2.062 million for the Japan/Taiwan International Championship, down 7% and 3%, respectively, from Taiwan/Mexico last year (1.5, 2.122 mil).
Despite the generally lower numbers, all three Little League games on ABC topped Saturday’s regional MLB coverage on FOX.
