Yankees-Red Sox ratings hit a metered market high on ESPN; Tiger Woods‘ return boosted the Bridgestone Invitational; the championship of The Basketball Tournament hit a viewership low.
Yankees-Red Sox Ratings Hit Metered Market High
Yankees-Red Sox delivered a 2.2 overnight rating on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball last night, up 83% from last year (Dodgers-Mets: 1.2) and the highest regular season MLB overnight on ESPN — excluding Opening Night — since 2014. That year, Rangers-Angels had a 2.4 immediately following a U.S. FIFA World Cup match.
The Red Sox’ come-from-behind win had a 10.8 rating on Boston, the highest for a game on ESPN since 2011, and a 5.7 in New York City.
Woods’ Return Boosts Bridgestone
Second round coverage of the PGA Tour/WGC-Bridgestone Invitational earned 1.12 million viewers on Golf Channel Friday, up 99% from last year (561K) and up 96% from 2016, when the tournament began in June (570K). Versus 2014, Tiger Woods’ previous appearance in the event, viewership increased 63% from 683,000. It was the tournament’s largest cable audience in at least six years.
First round action last Thursday pulled 652,000, up 29% from last year (506K) and up 47% from 2016 (443K). It was the tournament’s top first round audience since 2014 (700K).
Over the weekend, final round coverage pulled a 2.5 overnight rating on CBS — up 32% from last year (1.9) and the highest since 2015 (2.7). Third round action had a 2.2 (+38%), the highest since 2013.
Basketball Tournament Title Game Hits Low
The championship game of The Basketball Tournament delivered 263,000 viewers on ESPN Friday, down 11% from last year’s title game, which aired on a Thursday night in an earlier timeslot (295K), and the event’s smallest audience in four years on ESPN. The game comfortably outdrew the competing BIG3 basketball telecast on FS1, which had 159,000.
[Numbers from Nielsen via Sports Business Daily 8.6 a, b; ShowBuzz Daily 8.3, 8.6]
