The USFL Championship Game was no match for last year — or for its XFL counterpart. Plus: F1 scored a record audience at the Austrian Grand Prix; more declines for USMNT and Mexico Gold Cup matches; and more.
USFL title game no match for last year — or XFL
Last Saturday’s Pittsburgh-Birmingham USFL Championship Game averaged a 0.7 rating and 1.16 million viewers on NBC, down 28% in ratings and 24% in viewership from last year’s title game on FOX (0.9, 1.52M). Birmingham’s win also trailed the XFL Championship Game earlier this year, which averaged a 0.8 and 1.44 million.
For the year, the USFL Championship ranks fifth among spring football games behind the aforementioned XFL finale, a pair of opening weekend XFL games, and a post-Kentucky Derby USFL game on NBC (Memphis-Michigan: 2.06M).
F1 Austrian GP sets record
Last Sunday’s Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix averaged a 0.6 rating and 1.09 million viewers on ESPN, marking the largest audience ever for the race. Max Verstappen’s win, which peaked with 1.21 million, increased 2% from last year (1.07M). The F1 season is now averaging 1.26 million on the ESPN family of networks, up from last year’s average of 1.21 million.
Later in the day, IndyCar Series racing from Mid-Ohio averaged a 0.4 and 739,000 on USA Network — the most-watched IndyCar race on cable in two years. Compared to last year’s race on NBC, ratings fell 28% (from 0.6) and viewership 16% (from 877K).
As previously noted, NASCAR from Chicago was the top sportscast of the week with a 2.5 and 4.62 million on NBC Sunday evening.
Yet more declines for USMNT, Mexico, in Gold Cup
Last Sunday’s United States-Trinidad & Tobago Concacaf Gold Cup match averaged a 0.52 rating and 1.09 million viewers on FOX, down more than 20 percent from the comparable USMNT-Canada match on the same network two years ago (0.69, ~1.4M). The FOX broadcast was outdrawn by Univision’s Spanish-language coverage at a 0.54 and 1.21 million.
Later in the night, Mexico-Qatar averaged a 1.0 and 2.19 million on Univision and a 0.14 and 391,000 on FS1, both down sharply from Mexico’s third Gold Cup match two years ago, against El Salvador in the same Sunday night window (~3.65M; ~889K).
Plus: PGA Tour, MLB, WNBA
- Tape-delayed final round coverage of the PGA Tour at Detroit averaged a 1.4 rating and 2.45 million viewers on CBS, down a tick in ratings and 1% in viewership from live coverage last year (1.5, 2.48M). Third round rainout coverage averaged a 0.7 and 1.06 million.
- Regional Major League Baseball action on FOX averaged a 0.9 rating and 1.76 million viewers last weekend, down from a 1.1 and 1.91 million last year. The following night, Giants-Mets combined for a 0.8 and 1.44 million across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes on Sunday Night Baseball — ahead of last year’s 0.7 and 1.22 million on ESPN alone (Giants-Phillies).
- Last Saturday’s Sun-Aces WNBA Finals rematch averaged a 0.4 rating and 644,000, marking the seventh WNBA game to cross the 600,000 viewer threshold this season — nearly double last year’s full regular season total of four.
For more sports ratings coverage, see the SMW weekly ratings chart. Plus:
— Their kind of town: Chicago street race hits NASCAR high
(Some Nielsen estimates from network PR)
