Ratings: ESPYs, UFC, MLB and more

The ESPY Awards averaged 1.21 million viewers on ABC last Saturday, the second-smallest audience ever for the event. Viewership more-than-doubled the all-time low set last year, when the show aired on tape-delay with no fans, during a months-long sports hiatus, and on cable (482K). Compared to the last traditional ESPYs in 2019, which aired on a Wednesday night, viewership fell 69% from 3.87 million.

Keep in mind that this year’s ESPYs took place on a night full of live sporting events, a departure not just from last year, but from the norm. Typically, the event airs during the dead period between the MLB All-Star Game and second half of the season. It ranked dead last among Saturday night shows on broadcast television, trailing the SRX racing series on CBS (1.28M).

Prior to the past two years, the ESPY Awards had never dipped below 1.98 million viewers.

Last Saturday’s UFC 264 prelims, which preceded the Dustin Poirier-Conor McGregor main event, averaged 1.62 million viewers on ESPN — the largest UFC audience since UFC 246 prelims in January of last year, which preceded McGregor’s return from a lengthy hiatus. Viewership increased 49% from the previous PPV prelims last month (1.09M).

Figures do not include the ‘early prelims’ that averaged 830,000.

The actual main event itself generated 1.3 million buys on ESPN+ and an additional 500,000 international buys, according to John Ourand of Sports Business Journal.

Regional Major League Baseball on FOX (Yankees-Astros, Cubs-Cardinals or Reds-Brewers) averaged 2.46 million viewers last Saturday, up 2% from 2019 (2.41M) and the third-largest audience of the season on any network. Earlier in the day, FS1 chipped in 289,000 for A’s-Rangers.

On Sunday, TBS pulled 420,000 for Yankees-Astros — up 6% from 2019 (Yankees-Rays: 395K).

Going back to last week, ESPN averaged 578,000 for Dodgers-Marlins on July 7, 529,000 for White Sox-Twins on July 5 (-23%), 483,000 for Phillies-Cubs last Thursday (-17%)*, 446,000 for Red Sox-Angels on July 5, and 285,000 for Yankees-Mariners on July 6.

* Comparable 2019 game aired on July 4.

The latest edition of the SRX on CBS averaged 1.28 million viewers last Saturday night, up 20% from the previous week’s series-low of 1.07 million. … The United States’ men’s basketball team’s loss to Nigeria last Saturday averaged 399,000 on NBCSN, up 17% from the first U.S. exhibition in 2016, which aired on NBA TV (341K). … Last Thursday’s National Spelling Bee finals averaged 229,000 on ESPN2, down an unsurprising 59% from the last time it was held in 2019, when it aired on ESPN (555K).