Facing the NFL, Sunday Night Baseball had its smallest audience in over two months. In other news, FS1 had a big increase for its baseball telecast Saturday, and NBCSN had a double-digit jump for Formula 1 coverage from Singapore.
SNB Up, But Scores Smallest Audience Since July
- The Yankees/Mets Sunday Night Baseball game had 1.6 million viewers on ESPN, up 41% from Yankees/Orioles last year (1.3M), down 13% from Yankees/Red Sox in 2013 (1.8M) and the least-watched Sunday night game since Giants/Nationals opposite the Women’s World Cup final in July (1.3M). The Yankees’ blowout win was the season’s first SNB telecast to face NFL competition. On Tuesday, Yankees/Blue Jays drew 981,000 viewers — the seventh-largest audience for a weekday game this year.
Big Jump For Royals/Tigers on FS1
- Saturday’s Royals/Tigers Major League Baseball game drew 554,000 viewers on Fox Sports 1, up 433% from Padres/Diamondbacks in a later timeslot last year (104K). The telecast ranks 15th out of the 35 MLB telecasts on FS1 this season (excludes rainouts). On Sunday, Cardinals/Cubs drew 247,000 on TBS — the network’s second-smallest audience of the season.
NBCSN Sees Another Gain For F1
- Formula 1 racing from Singapore earned a 0.3 final rating and 510,000 viewers on NBCSN Sunday morning, flat in ratings and up 26% in viewership from last year (406K) and up a tick and 98%, respectively, from 2013 (257K). NBCSN has averaged 450,000 viewers for F1 coverage this season, up 15% from last year’s 390,000. Eight of the nine F1 telecasts on the network have had a year-over-year increase, with six of those up by double-digits.
(via ShowBuzz Daily [1], [2], TV Media Insights, NBC Sports Group Press Box)
