Another Olympic-affected ratings roundup, including declines for NASCAR, the NFL preseason, baseball, golf and more.
NASCAR returns from hiatus with decline opposite Olympics
Last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Richmond averaged a 1.2 rating and 2.22 million viewers on USA Network, down 15% in ratings and 9% in viewership from last year (1.4, 2.4M), with the caveat that coverage faced the Olympic Closing Ceremony. Austin Dillon’s controversial win, which peaked with 2.6 million viewers, delivered the largest non-Olympic audience of last weekend.
NFL preseason viewership trending lower
Thursday’s Eagles-Patriots NFL preseason game averaged 0.8 rating and 1.45 million viewers on NFL Network, down from a 0.9 and 1.66 million for Browns-Eagles last year. NFL Network is now averaging 1.39 million for preseason games (11 telecasts), down 14% from the same point last year, when games of course did not face the Olympics (1.61M).
Last Sunday’s Cowboys-Rams game ranks as the most-watched of the preseason thus far on NFL Network, averaging 2.06 million — down 7% from 49ers-Raiders in the same window last year (2.23M).
Plus: MLB, PGA, Rugby
— Opposite the Olympics, regional Major League Baseball action on FOX averaged just 1.07 million viewers and ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball (Mets-Mariners) just 937,000 last weekend. Both windows fared better the prior week, averaging 1.67 and 1.18 million respectively.
— Sunday coverage of the waterlogged PGA Tour Wyndham Championship averaged 1.44 million viewers on CBS, down 14% from last year, when the tournament was run as scheduled. This year’s conclusion was pushed to Monday.
— The recent New England-Seattle Major League Rugby final averaged just 200,000 on FOX opposite the Olympics August 7, down from 269,000 last year.
