ESPN had a solid increase for Monday Night Baseball, though with a caveat. In other news, NBA TV scored its second-largest WNBA audience, and The Golf Channel had a record second quarter.
Solid Gains For Monday Night Baseball, With Caveat
- The Rangers/Orioles Monday Night Baseball game drew 669,000 viewers on ESPN, up 35% from Nationals/Brewers during the comparable week last season (494K) and up 69% from Giants/Dodgers in a later timeslot two years ago (397K). It should be noted that both of those games aired on ESPN2 opposite the College World Series. On Tuesday night, Cubs/Mets drew just 317,000 viewers — the third-smallest MLB audience on ESPN or ESPN2 this season. (via ShowBuzz Daily [1], [2])
NBA TV Earns Second-Largest WNBA Audience
- Sunday’s Sparks/Liberty WNBA regular season game drew 186,000 viewers on NBA TV, the network’s second-largest WNBA audience. Compared to recent ESPN2 games, it scored the same numbers as Mercury/Lynx the previous night — Mercury C Brittney Griner‘s first game back from suspension — and topped Liberty/Sky on Tuesday (168K). (NBA TV via TV By the Numbers; Sports TV Ratings [1], [2], [3])
Golf Channel Has Best Second Quarter
- Golf Channel averaged 124,000 viewers per day during the second quarter of the year, up 3% from last year (120K), even with 2013, and tied as the network’s most-watched Q2 ever. Viewership has increased 44% since Q2 2010 (86K), the last year before Golf Channel joined NBC Sports Group. (Golf Channel)
