Catching up on some ratings after the Fourth of July holiday, here are the numbers from the weekend of June 29-30. Among the events listed: MLB on FOX (June 29), “Sunday Night Baseball” on ESPN (June 30), the PGA Tour AT&T National on CBS (June 29-30), and the U.S. Women’s Open on NBC (June 29-30).
Baseball
MLB on FOX Hits Season-High in Viewership
- Regional Major League Baseball action featuring Yankees/Orioles earned a 2.2 final rating and a season-high 3.5 million viewers on FOX June 29, up 29% in ratings and 33% in viewership from coverage featuring Mets/Dodgers last year (1.7, 2.7M), and up 57% and 64%, respectively, from coverage featuring Mets/Rangers in 2011 (1.4, 2.2M). In addition to the season-high in viewership, the 2.2 rating matched a season-high.
“Sunday Night Baseball” Solid For ESPN
- The Yankees/Orioles series was also a boon to ESPN. The June 30 Yankees/Orioles “Sunday Night Baseball” game earned just under 2.1 million viewers, the network’s largest Sunday night audience since Red Sox/Yankees on June 2.
Golf
AT&T National Hits Record-Low
- Final round coverage of the PGA Tour AT&T National earned a 1.3 final rating and just under 1.9 million viewers on CBS June 30, down 71% in ratings from Tiger Woods‘ win last year (4.4), and down 13% and 16%, respectively, from 2011 (1.5, 2.2M). The 1.3 is the lowest ever for final round coverage of the event. The previous day, third round action earned a 1.0 final rating and 1.3 million viewers — down 55% in ratings from last year (2.2), and down 9% and 19%, respectively, from 2011 (1.1, 1.6M).
U.S. Women’s Open Down From Last Year
- The final round of the U.S. Women’s Open drew a 0.7 final rating and 971,000 viewers on NBC June 30, down a tick in ratings from both last year and 2011 (0.8). On June 29, third round coverage drew a 0.6 and 748,000 viewers — down 25% in ratings from last year (0.8), but even with 2011 (0.6).
… and the rest
- Taped highlights of Wimbledon on the “Middle Sunday” earned a 0.6 U.S. rating and 719,000 viewers on ABC on June 30 — actually trailing the network’s coverage of X Games Munich the previous day (0.7, 990K).
- Meanwhile, NBC earned a 0.6 and 750,000 for taped Tour de France coverage on June 30 and a 0.5 and 710,000 for the U.S. Swimming National Championships on June 29.
- As previously reported, TNT’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race from Kentucky earned a 2.6 U.S. rating and 4.0 million viewers.
(ESPN’s SNB viewership from The Futon Critic)
