A delayed, fanless Belmont Stakes — leading off an altered, months-long Triple Crown season — did not resonate in the ratings.
The race portion of the Belmont Stakes averaged a 2.0 rating and 3.33 million viewers on NBC Saturday evening, marking the smallest audience for the race since at least 1993. The previous low was 4.0 million in 1996. It was also the least-watched Triple Crown race ever on NBC.
Tiz the Law’s win, which peaked with 4.0 million viewers from 5:45-5:57 PM ET, declined 35% in ratings and 32% in viewership from last year’s Belmont (3.1, 4.91M). Two years ago, when Justify clinched the Triple Crown, the race averaged a 7.5 and 12.66 million.
Including streaming viewership, the race averaged 3.4 million.
This year’s Belmont, like nearly all sporting events in 2020, has an asterisk. The race was pushed back two weeks and led off what would be a four-month Triple Crown season, assuming the September 5 Kentucky Derby and October 3 Preakness Stakes go on as scheduled. The race also took place about an hour earlier than usual, with the ‘race portion’ of the telecast beginning at 5:13 PM.
Despite the historic lows, the Belmont was the most-watched sportscast of Father’s Day weekend. It comfortably topped Sunday’s NASCAR rainout coverage on FOX (1.3, 2.06M) and the final round of the PGA Tour Heritage tournament on CBS (1.3, 2.04M).
Louisville led all markets Saturday with a 5.8 rating and 14 share, followed by West Palm Beach, Fla. (5.5/12), Baltimore (5.4/14), Ft. Myers, Fla. (4.5/9) and Cincinnati (4.4/12). Host market New York City ranked eighth at a 4.0/12.
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily, NBC Sports 6.23]
