ESPN had a fourth-straight double-digit increase for Sunday Night Baseball. In other news, the Yankees again delivered one of Fox Sports 1’s top audiences of the season, and Formula 1 racing from Italy had an increase on NBCSN.
Sunday Night Baseball Up Again; Labor Day Game Down
- The Pirates/Cardinals Sunday Night Baseball game drew 1.8 million viewers on ESPN, up 52% from Indians/Royals last year (1.2M) and up 109% from Mets/Nationals in 2013 (853K). The Pirates’ win was the fourth straight Sunday night game to have a double or triple-digit increase. The following day, Orioles/Yankees drew 718,000 in a special afternoon timeslot — down 3% from Phillies/Braves in the same window last year (741K).
Yankees Still Top Draw on FS1
- Saturday’s Rays/Yankees Major League Baseball game drew 631,000 viewers on Fox Sports 1, the network’s eighth largest audience of the season. The Yankees have played in five of the nine most-watched games on FS1 this season. Later in the day, FS1 scored 290,000 for Pirates/Cardinals — the fourth-smallest audience of the season, but still up 55% from Reds/Pirates last year (187K). Rounding out the weekend’s MLB action, TBS drew 369,000 for Rays/Yankees on Sunday afternoon.
F1 From Italy Up on NBCSN
- Formula 1 racing from Italy drew 461,000 viewers on NBCSN Sunday morning, up 12% from last year (410K) and up 88% from 2013 (245K). The race ranks seventh out of the 12 F1 races this season, and fifth out of the eight on NBCSN.
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily [1], [2]; Sports TV Ratings)
