In a reversal from the overnights, MLB on FOX scored a slight increase in viewership over the weekend. In other news, the season finale of Sunday Night Baseball posted a solid gain, and NASCAR’s Xfinity Series race at Kentucky hit a viewership high.
MLB on FOX Ekes Out Viewership Bump
- Regional Major League Baseball action featuring Cardinals/Cubs in 80% of markets earned a 1.1 final rating and 1.6 million viewers on FOX Saturday afternoon, flat in ratings and up 5% in viewership (from 1.57M to 1.65M) from last year and down 15% and 13%, respectively, from 2014 (1.3, 1.9M). It was the second-lowest rated game of the season on FOX, ahead of coverage featuring Cubs/Astros two weeks earlier (1.0).
Sunday Night Baseball Finale Posts Modest Gain
- Cardinals/Cubs scored a 1.0 final rating and 1.6 million viewers on the season finale of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, flat in ratings and up 11% in viewership from Pirates/Cubs last year (1.0, 1.5M) and up 43% and 47%, respectively, from Reds/Cardinals in 2014 (0.7, 1.1M). In other action, ESPN scored 518,000 for Cardinals/Cubs Friday afternoon and 361,000 for Yankees/Blue Jays later in the night (-3%). On TBS, Yankees/Blue Jays had a 0.1 (flat) and 182,000 (+8%) on Sunday afternoon.
NASCAR Xfinity Hits High at Kentucky
- NASCAR Xfinity Series racing from Kentucky earned a 0.6 final rating and 846,000 viewers on NBCSN Saturday night, flat in ratings but down 9% in viewership from last year (0.6, 933K) and up a tick and 32%, respectively, from coverage on ESPNEWS in 2014 (0.5, 708K). It was the highest rated and most-watched edition of the race since its inaugural edition in 2011, the only time coverage aired on ESPN (1.0, 1.4M).
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 9/27)
