The second leg of the Triple Crown was less of a draw this year.
The race portion of The Preakness Stakes earned a 5.5 final rating and 8.9 million viewers on NBC Saturday evening, down 8% in ratings and viewership from last year (6.0, 9.6M), down 7% and 8%, respectively, from 2013 (5.9, 9.7M), and the lowest rated and least-watched edition of the race since 2012 (5.2, 8.1M).
The 5.5 rating is tied as the third-lowest for The Preakness Stakes since NBC began airing the race in 2001, matching 2008 and ahead of only 2010 (5.3) and 2012. Three of the four lowest rated Preakness races on NBC have been in years when the Kentucky Derby winner won the race.
Viewership fared better compared to previous years, ranking a middle-of-the-pack 8th out of NBC’s 15 Preakness telecasts.
Despite the lower numbers, the Preakness was easily the top sporting event of the week on any network — finishing comfortably ahead of Sunday’s Clippers/Rockets NBA playoff game on ABC (4.4, 6.9M). In the five weeks since The Masters, the two most-watched sporting events have been the Derby and Preakness.
(Sat. numbers via Sports Business Daily)
