Figures for several Memorial Day weekend sporting events, including highs for the UEFA Champions League Final and F1 Monaco Grand Prix and declines for the NASCAR Xfinity Series and PGA Tour.
UEFA Final Hits High in FOX Farewell
Last Saturday’s Real Madrid-Liverpool UEFA Champions League Final earned a 1.2 rating and 2.0 million viewers on FOX, up 20% in ratings and 14% in viewership from last year (Real Madrid-Juventus: 1.0, 1.8M) and up 20% and 19% respectively from 2016 (Real Madrid-Atletico Madrid: 1.0, 1.7M).
Real Madrid’s win — in the final UEFA telecast on FOX — was the highest rated and most-watched Champions League final in three years (2015 Barcelona-Juventus: 1.3, 2.2M).
Spanish-language coverage on ESPN Deportes had 1.02 million, down 18% from last year on Fox Deportes (1.2M). The combined audience of 3.02 million still increased narrowly from last year’s 3.00 million.
F1 Monaco GP Hits Cable High
Live coverage of the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix had a 0.5 rating and 809,000 viewers on ESPN last Sunday, the largest F1 audience on a U.S. cable network since 1995. That year, ESPN drew 876,000 for the Italian Grand Prix.
Despite the cable record, the race declined 45% in ratings and 44% in viewership from last year (1.0, 1.4M) and down 44% and 39% respectively from 2016 (0.9, 1.3M), when coverage aired on NBC.
Even with fewer viewers watching the live broadcast, the audience for the race was substantially higher than last year. An encore presentation of the race had a 1.0 and 1.6 million on ABC following the Indy 500. Combined, viewership for the live and encore telecasts increased 40 percent from last year.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Down Again
NASCAR Xfinity Series racing from Charlotte delivered a 0.6 rating and 900,000 viewers on FS1 last Saturday, down a tick in ratings and 13% in viewership from last year (0.7, 1.0M) and down a third and 36% respectively from 2016 (0.9, 1.4M). Figures do not include a one-hour rain delay.
PGA Suddenly on Losing Streak
Last Sunday’s final round of the PGA Tour Colonial Invitational had a 1.3 rating and 2.0 million viewers on CBS, down a tick in ratings and 2% in viewership from last year (1.4, 2.0M) and down 32% and 33% respectively from 2016 (1.9, 2.9M).
It was the least-watched final round of the tournament in four years (2014: 1.8M).
Third round action the previous day had a 1.0 (even) and 1.5 million (-6%), also the lowest since 2014 (1.0M). The past three PGA windows on broadcast television have hit multi-year lows in ratings and/or viewership, compared to just four of the previous 33.
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 5.30; ESPN]
