Viewership was mixed for Major League Baseball on ESPN this week. In other news, Fox Sports 1 and TBS both posted declines for MLB coverage, and NASCAR Xfinity Series viewership dropped on USA Network.
Up and Down Week For MLB on ESPN
- Mets/Giants had a 0.9 final rating and 1.4 million viewers on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball last weekend, down 25% in ratings and 28% in viewership from Giants/Pirates last year (1.2, 1.9M) and flat and down 1%, respectively, from A’s/Braves in 2014 (1.37M to 1.36M). All five of ESPN’s MLB windows opposite the Olympics posted a double-digit drop in viewership. In other action, Yankees/Mariners had 541,000 viewers on Tuesday night, up 43% from Cardinals/Diamondbacks on a Monday last year (379K). Giants/Dodgers rounded out the week with 813,000 on Wednesday (-11%).
MLB Viewership Down on FS1, TBS, Last Weekend
- Fox Sports 1 scored a 0.2 final rating and 318,000 viewers for Mets/Giants last Saturday afternoon, down a tick in ratings and 18% in viewership from Giants/Pirates last year (0.3, 387K) and down a tick and 9%, respectively, from Yankees/Rays in 2014 (0.3, 351K). The previous night, Yankees/Angels had 267,000; there was no comparable window last year or in 2014. Over on TBS, Red Sox/Tigers had a 0.3 and 399,000 Sunday afternoon — flat in ratings and down 13% in viewership from Dodgers/Astros last year (0.3, 457K).
Bristol Xfinity Viewership Drops
- NASCAR Xfinity Series racing from Bristol (TN) had a 0.8 final rating and 1.2 million viewers on USA Network last Friday, down 6% in viewership from last year on NBCSN (1.3M) and down 20% and 28%, respectively, from 2014 on ESPN (1.0, 1.6M). Viewership declined for all three Xfinity Series races during the Olympics.
Numbers via ShowBuzz Daily [1], [2], [3], [4], Programming Insider)
