The Yankees/Red Sox rivalry delivered solid numbers to ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball last week. In other news, the combined audience for the NFL Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony declined slightly, and NFL Network had mixed results for a preseason doubleheader Thursday night.
Yankees/Red Sox Up on ESPN
- Last week’s Yankees/Red Sox Sunday Night Baseball game drew a 1.5 U.S. rating and 2.2 million viewers on ESPN, up 36% in ratings and 44% in viewership from Braves/Phillies last year (1.1, 1.6M). Despite the big increase, the game trailed the rivals’ two previous Sunday night meetings this season (2.8M on April 13 and 2.6M on June 29).
NFL Hall of Fame Ceremony Down Slightly
- The NFL Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony drew approximately 1.1 million viewers across ESPN2 and NFL Network, down 6% from last year (1.2M). In particular, the ESPN2 telecast drew a 0.5 and 718,000 viewers — flat in ratings and up 3% in viewership from last year (0.5, 698K). NFL Network drew a 0.3 and 383,000, flat and down 20%, respectively, from last year (0.3, 477K).
Preseason Doubleheader Mixed on NFL Network
- Thursday’s 49ers/Ravens NFL preseason game drew 1.8 million viewers on NFL Network, down 42% from Bengals/Falcons on ESPN last year (3.4M). In the late window, Cowboys/Chargers drew 1.4 million — up 111% from last year’s Seahawks/Chargers game (685K).
(Wknd. numbers from Sports Business Daily; Thu. numbers from TV By the Numbers)
