ESPN posted a slight gain for its MLB Fort Bragg game Sunday. In other news, the Wimbledon quarterfinals were mixed on ESPN and ESPN2, and the Tour de France opened with mixed numbers of its own.
MLB Ft. Bragg Game Up Slightly
- The special Marlins/Braves Major League Baseball game from Fort Bragg earned a 0.9 final rating and 1.4 million viewers on ESPN Sunday night, up a tick in ratings and 3% in viewership from Giants/Nationals last year (0.8, 1.3M) but down 50% and 49%, respectively, from Red Sox/Yankees in 2014 (1.8, 2.6M). On Independence Day, the delayed Tigers/Indians game drew 610,000 (-40%) while Rockies/Giants drew 747,000 earlier in the day. Rounding out the week’s action, Rangers/Red Sox drew 577,000 on Wednesday (-28%).
Wimbledon Quarters Mixed
- Coverage of the Wimbledon men’s quarterfinals earned 786,000 viewers on ESPN and 273,000 on ESPN2 Wednesday, up 66% and down 26%, respectively, from last year (475K and 370K). The women’s quarterfinals the previous day earned 523,000 on ESPN and 355,000 on ESPN2, down 50% and up 19%, respectively, from last year (1.0M and 297K).
Tour de France Opens Flat
- Stage 1 of the Tour de France had 254,000 viewers on NBCSN Saturday morning, the same as last year but down 31% from 2014 (366K). Stages 2 and 3 had 355,000 and 370,000, respectively, up 11% and 21% from last year (317K and 305K). That was followed by declines for both Stage 4 (226K, -4%) and Stage 5 (263K, -2%).
(Numbers via Programming Insider, Sports TV Ratings [1], [2], [3], [4])
