Ratings roundup: the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry delivered a season-high to ESPN; the Formula 1 British Grand Prix set a new record; Bronny James’ debut hit a Summer League high; the PGA John Deere Classic drew its top audience in nine years.
Yankees-Red Sox hits Sunday night high
Yankees-Red Sox averaged 2.36 million viewers on the latest edition of ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, marking the largest audience for the Sunday night series since the same matchup on the opening weekend of the 2022 season. Excluding opening weekend games, it was the most-watched edition of SNB since 2019. Sunday Night Baseball is now averaging 1.62 million viewers this season (+6%).
In other action, regional MLB on FOX averaged 2.70 million on Saturday night — the second-largest audience of the season on any network. Keep in mind the Saturday night FOX window did not feature Yankees-Red Sox, which aired earlier in the day on FS1 and drew 619,000, the network’s third-largest audience of the season.
F1 British Grand Prix hits new high; IndyCar at season-high
The Formula 1 British Grand Prix averaged 1.29 million viewers on ESPN2 Sunday morning, up 10% from last year (1.17M) and surpassing 2022 (1.24M) as the most-watched edition of the race. Lewis Hamilton’s win, which peaked with 1.5 million in the 11:15 AM ET quarter-hour, was the sixth of the past seven F1 races to increase and the fourth this season to set a record.
The race also ranks as the most-watched live F1 telecast ever on ESPN2.
The F1 season is now averaging 1.34 million viewers across the ESPN networks, down 2% from the same point of last season (1.36M). Keep in mind last season’s average dwindled down the stretch as Max Verstappen pulled away from the rest of the field. The full-season average last year finished at 1.24 million.
In other racing action, IndyCar Series action from Mid-Ohio averaged 1.25 million on NBC — the top audience of the season outside of the Indy 500. The race led into the NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Street Race. Pato O’Ward’s win, which peaked with 1.60 million, increased 69% from last year on USA Network (739K).
Bronny James debut sets Summer League mark
Saturday’s Lakers-Kings NBA California Summer League game, which marked the first official NBA appearance by Lakers draftee Bronny James (son of LeBron), averaged 534,000 viewers on ESPN — the largest audience for a non-Vegas Summer League game. (The Las Vegas Summer League is the primary event, but the NBA also holds smaller Summer League competitions in California and Utah.)
PGA John Deere Classic scores top final round in nine years
Final round coverage of the PGA Tour John Deere Classic averaged 2.10 million viewers on CBS Sunday afternoon, up 32% from last year and the highest average for the tournament since 2015 (3.37M). Viewership has now increased for three-straight final round telecasts on CBS.
