After an increase in the overnight ratings, the first USWNT match of the Women’s World Cup finished with a decline in the final nationals. Also: recent ratings for Major League Baseball, the UFC, and the WNBA.
USWNT Women’s World Cup opener finishes with decline
Tuesday’s United States-Thailand FIFA Women’s World Cup match had 2.63 million viewers on FOX, down 21% from the first USWNT match in the 2015 Women’s World Cup, which aired in primetime on FS1 (vs. Australia: 3.31M), but up 145% from the team’s first match in 2011, which aired in the morning on ESPN (1.07M). Including streaming, the match had 2.72 million.
The double-digit decline is a reversal from the overnight ratings, which increased a tick over 2015.
Despite the drop, the match ranks as the most-watched soccer telecast on English-language TV since last year’s World Cup.
MLB hits season-highs on FOX, FS1, last weekend
Regional MLB action featuring Cardinals-Cubs had a 1.6 rating and 2.56 million viewers on FOX last Saturday night, flat in ratings and down 7% in viewership from last year (mostly Yankees-Mets: 1.6, 2.76M) and up a tick and 11% respectively from 2017 (mostly Orioles-Yankees: 1.5, 2.31M).
The telecast ranks as the most-watched of the MLB season, topping regional action on FOX the previous week (mostly Red Sox-Yankees: 2.55M).
Earlier in the day, Yankees-Indians had a 0.46 and 703,000 on FS1 — the network’s most-watched MLB telecast in nearly a year.
In other action, Cardinals-Cubs had a 1.0 and 1.57 million on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball — down 29% in ratings and 25% in viewership from last year (Yankees-Mets: 1.4, 2.11M), but up 15% and 19% respectively from 2017 (Tigers-Red Sox: 0.85, 1.32M). ESPN also drew a 0.43 (+16%) and 617,000 (+12%) for Yankees-Mets on Tuesday night; 632,000 viewers for Brewers-Astros on Wednesday (-23%); and 399,000 for Tigers-Royals opposite the NBA Finals on Thursday (-59%).
UFC scores top audience since March
Last Saturday’s UFC 238 prelims earned a 0.6 rating and 964,000 viewers on ESPN, up 50% in ratings and 45% in viewership from last year on FS1 (0.42, 667K), and the most-watched UFC telecast since March. The telecast finished ahead of its Top Rank Boxing lead-out, which had a 0.56 and 799,000.
WNBA posts top regular season audience in years
Last Saturday’s Los Angeles-Minnesota WNBA regular season game scored a 0.45 rating and 565,000 viewers on ABC, marking the league’s largest regular season audience since at least 2012. The previous high was 552,000 for a Phoenix-Indiana game on ABC in 2013. The game earned a larger audience than all three games of last year’s Seattle-Washington WNBA Finals, which topped out at 546,000.
Keep in mind the game was just the third regular season game on ABC since 2012.
[Numbers from Fox Sports, Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 6.11]
