Considering the struggles Fox Sports 1 has had with baseball this season, it is no surprise that Yankees/Red Sox was edged by international soccer Saturday afternoon.
Saturday’s Yankees/Red Sox Major League Baseball regular season game earned a 0.55 overnight rating on Fox Sports 1, according to ShowBuzz Daily — the network’s second-highest overnight of the season for a Saturday telecast (overnights for weekday games were not available). The only game to do better was Angels/Yankees in April (0.68).
Keep in mind the FS1 telecast ‘co-existed’ with local YES Network and NESN coverage.
Though relatively high for Fox Sports 1, the 0.55 overnight is obviously quite low for Major League Baseball — and especially the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry. ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, by comparison, had a 1.7 overnight for the same match-up.
Yankees/Red Sox on FS1 was edged head-to-head by the Manchester United/Real Madrid soccer match on regular FOX (0.56). Though it may be tempting to suggest the result is indicative of soccer’s growing popularity, keep in mind that a 0.55 overnight on a fledgling cable network is a good deal more impressive than a 0.56 on broadcast.
In addition, Yankees/Red Sox could easily come out ahead when the final numbers are released later this week.
(Wknd. overnights from ShowBuzz Daily)
