While the Preakness ended hopes of a Triple Crown this year, its ratings provided a consolation prize for NBC.
The race segment of the 2016 Preakness Stakes earned a 5.8 final rating and 9.4 million viewers on NBC Saturday evening, up 5% in ratings and 6% in viewership from last year (5.5, 8.9M) but down 3% and 2%, respectively, from 2104 (6.0, 9.6M).
Exaggerator‘s win, which ended Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist‘s chances of winning the Triple Crown, peaked with 11.4 million viewers from 6:45-7 PM ET.
As NBC noted in a Tuesday press release, the Preakness has now topped nine million viewers in three of the past four years, the event’s best such run since 2002-06 — when it did so in four of five years.
The Preakness easily topped a packed sports Saturday, finishing well ahead of Game 3 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals on ESPN (3.3, 5.4M). Its lead-out, Game 4 of the NHL Western Conference final, had a mere 1.4 and 2.3 million.
