A “Statcast” surge lifted viewership for the MLB Home Run Derby.
The 2019 MLB Home Run Derby averaged a combined 6.20 million viewers across on ESPN and ESPN2, up 5% from last year on ESPN and ESPNEWS (5.90M), but down 26% from 2017 on ESPN and ESPN2 (8.35M).
ESPN’s traditional coverage had a 3.1 rating and 5.35 million viewers, down a tick in ratings and 4% in viewership from last year (3.2, 5.57M). ESPN2’s Statcast simulcast picked up the slack with a 0.5 and 849,000 (+157%).
The combined audience is the fourth-lowest for the Derby since 2003 (5.22M), but ranks a middle-of-the-road third out of the past six editions.
In adults 18-49, Monday’s telecast scored a combined 2.1 rating — up 11% from last year (1.9) but down 22% from 2017 (2.7). It was the night’s top program in the demo, finishing comfortably ahead of ABC’s “The Bachelorette” (1.5).
The Derby outperformed its closest equivalent, NBA All-Star Saturday Night, which had a 2.7 and 5.02 million on TNT. The NBA telecast had a slightly higher rating in adults 18-49 (2.2). As one would expect, the Derby also dominated the NFL Pro Bowl Skills Challenge (761K) and the NHL’s SuperSkills (612K).
Immediately following the Derby, the MLB Celebrity Softball game had a 1.3 (-18%) and 2.16 million (-15%).
[Numbers from Nielsen via Programming Insider 7.10]
