On a busy day of sports viewing, it was the Belmont Stakes that topped the ratings charts.
Saturday’s one-hour race portion of The Belmont Stakes averaged a combined 2.0 rating and 3.66 million viewers across the main telecast on FOX (1.8, 3.30M) and an alternate presentation on FS1 (0.18, 356K), topping only the COVID-era edition of 2020 as the lowest rated and least-watched edition of the race. Excluding 2020, the Belmont never fell below 4.6 million during its run on NBC.
Dornoch’s win, which declined 4% from last year’s combined figure (3.86M), still topped a busy Saturday in sports viewing.
Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final placed second for the day, as the Panthers’ win over the Oilers averaged a 1.6 and 3.12 million on ABC — up 17% in ratings and 13% in viewership from last year’s Panthers-Golden Knights Game 1 on cable networks TBS, TNT and truTV, but down 29% and 26% respectively from the previous Game 1 on ABC two years ago (Lightning-Avalanche: 2.2, 4.20M). For more on the NHL numbers, see this article.
The Stanley Cup Final edged the competing Major League Baseball window on FOX, which featured Dodgers-Yankees and averaged a 1.6 and 2.91 million — the largest regular season MLB audience since the Aaron Judge home run chase in September 2022. MLB on FOX accounted for two of the day’s top five sportscasts, as the Phillies-Mets London Series matchup averaged a 0.9 and 1.62 million earlier in the day, down from Cubs-Cardinals a year ago. For more on the weekend MLB numbers, see this article.
Rounding out the top five, third round coverage of the PGA Tour Memorial tournament drew a 1.2 and just shy of two million on CBS — down slightly from last year’s 1.3 and 2.04 million. LIV Golf from Houston had a 0.09 and 151,000 on CW.
In other action, a Mexico-Brazil friendly topped the day in soccer with a 0.6 and 1.59 million on Univision. In adults 18-49 and 18-34, the match outdrew the competing Dodgers-Yankees MLB window on FOX. Earlier in the day, United States-Colombia drew a combined 0.6 and 1.39 million across Telemundo (0.32, 709K), TNT (0.27, 611K) and truTV (0.04, 72K).
In the UFL, the USFL Conference Championship between Michigan and Birmingham drew a 0.7 and 1.09 million on ABC — the largest UFL audience yet on the ESPN networks. It was preceded by a Liberty-Sun WNBA regular season game at a 0.6 and 962,000, the top WNBA audience in 15 years for a game that did not feature or follow Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever. The WNBA game comfortably outdrew the competing NWSL matchup on CBS (NY/NJ-Angel City), which drew a 0.33 and 546,000.
French Open coverage featuring the Iga Świątek-Jasmine Paolini women’s final averaged a mere 0.49 and 756,000, down sharply from Świątek-Karolína Muchová last year (0.6, 1.04M) and the least-watched singles final ever at the event. Even coverage of the delayed October final in 2020 averaged more viewers. (Keep in mind NBC’s figures are for the full five-hour telecast.)
Further down the dial, NASCAR Xfinity Series racing from Sonoma (Ca.) pulled a 0.42 and 768,000 on FS1, down from a 0.46 and 814,000 last year. A UFC Fight Night on ESPN drew a 0.37 and 644,000, edging a competing North Carolina-West Virginia NCAA baseball super regional game on ESPN2 at a 0.32 and 621,000.
In other super regional action, FSU’s extra-inning win over UConn drew a 0.31 and 539,000, followed by Florida-Clemson at a 0.30 and 525,000. In overlapping windows on ESPN2, Tennessee-Evansville had a 0.25 and 424,000 and Oregon-Texas A&M a 0.22 and 380,000. Oregon State-Kentucky drew a 0.15 and 279,000 on ESPNU, an impressive figure for that network, preceded by Virginia-Kansas State at a 0.08 and 140,000.
Sandwiched between baseball and UFC, the NCAA outdoor track and field championships drew a 0.33 and 519,000 on ESPN late Saturday afternoon. A Dream-Sky WNBA regular season game had a 0.12 and 175,000 on NBA TV. A Premier Lacrosse League match between New York and Carolina chipped in a 0.06 and 96,000 on ESPN2.
Saturday, June 8 sports ratings
