Ratings bounced back for the final games of the Little League World Series, but remained low.
Sunday’s Japan-Lufkin (Tex.) Little League World Series final earned a 1.6 rating and 2.61 million viewers on ABC, flat in ratings and up 2% in viewership from Maine-Endwell (N.Y.)-South Korea last year (1.6, 2.57M) and down 43% in both measures from Japan-Lewisberry (Pa.) in 2015 (2.8, 4.6M).
The 1.6 rating is tied as the lowest for the LLWS title game in at least 20 years, matching last year. That excludes the 2006 final, which was postponed due to rain and aired on ESPN2.
Japan’s blowout win trailed the previous day’s Lufkin (Tex.)-Greenville (N.C.) U.S. Championship, which had a 1.9 (+19%) and 2.9 million (+13%). Though up from last year, the 1.9 rating was the second-lowest for the U.S. title game since 2011 (1.8).
Rounding out the weekend’s action, the Japan-Mexico International Championship had a 1.2 (+9%) and 1.8 million (+8%). The 1.2 rating is tied as the second-lowest for the game since at least 2008.
Figures do not include streaming coverage on WatchESPN. The three games averaged 24,000 viewers on the platform, up 89% from last year (13K).
