Ratings for the MLB Home Run Derby were the lowest in at least 19 years.
The 2016 Home Run Derby earned a 3.2 fast-national rating and 5.5 million viewers on ESPN Monday night, down 24% in ratings and 22% in viewership from last year (4.2, 7.1M) and down 6% and up 2%, respectively, from rain-delayed coverage in 2014 (3.4, 5.4M). Figures do not include viewership on the WatchESPN app (96K).
Giancarlo Stanton‘s dominating win, in which he hit a derby-record 61 home runs, earned the lowest rating for the contest since at least 1997. The previous low was 2014’s 3.4. It also scored the second-smallest audience over that span, ahead of only 2014.
Overall, this year’s Home Run Derby was just the third in the past 19 years to fall short of a 4.0 rating and 6.0 million viewers, joining 2014 and 2003 (3.5, 5.2M).
Among adults 18-49, Monday’s telecast delivered a 1.9 rating — down 24% from last year (2.5), down 10% from 2014 (2.1), and the event’s lowest rating in the demo since at least 2006. It had a 1.7 in adults 18-34 (-23%).
Compared to other sports, the Home Run Derby scored the same rating as NBA All-Star Saturday Night in February, but had a slightly smaller audience (5.6M to 5.5M). It trailed the NBA’s festivities by 27% in adults 18-49 (2.6) and 35% in adults 18-34 (also 2.6).
(Mon. numbers from ESPN)
