Just two weeks after the second-most watched Kentucky Derby in 28 years, The Preakness Stakes delivered its smallest audience in 17.
The race portion of The Preakness Stakes earned a 4.6 final rating and 7.5 million viewers on NBC Saturday evening, down 21% in ratings and 20% in viewership from last year (5.8, 9.4M) and down 16% and 15% respectively from 2015 (5.5, 8.9M).
Cloud Computing‘s win, in which Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming finished eighth, ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched Preakness Stakes since 2000 on ABC (4.1, 5.5M). The previous lows over that span were a 5.3 in 2010 and 7.9 million in 2008.
It also ranks as the fourth-lowest rated and fifth-least watched Triple Crown horse race ever on NBC (45 telecasts dating back to 2001). Keep in mind ABC pulled some lower ratings for The Belmont Stakes when it had rights from 2006-10.
Saturday’s performance was a sharp contrast from the Kentucky Derby, which increased 3% in ratings and 6% in viewership and was the second-most watched since 1989.
Despite the lower numbers, the Preakness still ranked as the top sporting event of the weekend on any network — topping the NBA conference finals. That was not the case in adults 18-49, where the race’s 1.0 rating less than half of the NBA’s 2.1 on Saturday and 2.9 on Sunday.
| LOWEST RATED/LEAST WATCHED TRIPLE CROWN RACES ON NBC (2001-present) |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest Rated | Least-Watched | ||||||
| # | Year | Race | Rtg. | # | Year | Race | Vwrs. |
| 1 | 2016 | Belmont | 3.7 | 1 | 2016 | Belmont | 5.8M |
| 2 | 2011 | Belmont | 4.3 | T2 | 2011 | Belmont | 6.8M |
| 3 | 2013 | Belmont | 4.5 | T2 | 2001 | Belmont | 6.8M |
| 4 | 2017 | Preakness | 4.6 | 4 | 2013 | Belmont | 7.0M |
| 5 | 2012 | Belmont | 4.8 | 5 | 2017 | Preakness | 7.5M |
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 5.23)
