A Cubs no-hitter delivered ESPN’s highest MLB rating in Chicago since 2010. In other news, NBC saw a slight drop for its Premier League coverage Saturday, and a network change resulted in big gains for high school football on ESPN.
ESPN Scores Highest MLB Rating in Chicago Since 2010
- The Cubs/Dodgers Sunday Night Baseball game scored a 5.6 rating on ESPN in Chicago, the market’s highest regular season MLB rating on the network since 2010. The Cubs won the game behind a no-hitter by P Jake Arrieta. Nationally, the game had a 1.6 overnight — double last year’s comparable Angels/A’s game. (Twitter [1], [2])
Slight Drop For Premier League on NBC
- The Tottenham/Everton English Premier League match earned a 0.7 overnight rating on NBC Saturday afternoon, down a tick from Liverpool/Aston Villa last year and even with Everton/Chelsea in 2013. Both last year and in 2013, week four of the season took place two weeks later on the calendar. On Sunday, Swansea City/Manchester United scored a 0.6 on NBCSN — up 50% from Manchester United/Queens Park last year (0.4). (via ShowBuzz Daily)
Move From ESPNU to ESPN Boosts H.S. Football
- Friday’s Booker T. Washington (FL)/St. Thomas Aquinas (FL) high school football game drew 305,000 viewers on ESPN, up 177% from Leeds (AL)/Madison Academy (AL) on ESPNU last year (110K). Though up big, the game was not much of a draw — scoring fewer viewers than a Midnight ET re-air of the Patriots/Packers NFL preseason game on NFL Network (357K). (via Sports TV Ratings)
