Overnight ratings inched up for the MLB Home Run Derby; MLS hit a 15-year high following the Women’s World Cup Final; the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest also hit a multi-year high.
Derby overnights inch up; July 4 games mixed
Tuesday’s Major League Baseball Home Run Derby earned a combined 4.5 overnight rating across ESPN and ESPN2, up a tick from last year (4.4), but down 18% from 2017 (5.5). The ESPN2 “Statcast” simulcast contributed a 0.6 to the rating.
The 4.5 overnight, which peaked at a 5.0, ranks third out of the past six editions of the event.
In other MLB action, Cubs-Pirates averaged 826,000 viewers on ESPN Thursday afternoon — up 21% from July 4 last year (Orioles-Phillies: 683K) and up 52% from 2017 (Pirates-Phillies: 544K). The Phillies-Braves nightcap had 582,000 (-12%).
ESPN also drew 756,000 for Yankees-Mets last Wednesday and 689,000 for Cubs-Pirates July 1 (-24%).
MLS hits 15-year high following WWC Final
Airing immediately after the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, Sunday’s Atlanta-New York Major League Soccer match averaged 1.6 million viewers — the largest MLS audience on any network since 2004 (D.C.-San Jose: 1.97M).
Viewership surpassed the previous high of 1.56 million for Atlanta-Seattle following last year’s World Cup Final.
Hot Dog Contest posts largest live audience in eight years
Last Thursday’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest averaged 1.36 million viewers on ESPN2, up 19% from last year (1.14M), up 22% from 2017 (1.11M) and the largest live audience for the event since 2011 (1.9M). It was the largest audience for the event overall since an encore presentation scored 2.8 million following a World Cup match in 2014.
It was the day’s top sporting event, topping ESPN’s ten hours of Wimbledon coverage (1.14M) and the previously-mentioned baseball doubleheader that followed.
This year’s event took place two days after the contest was the subject of an ESPN 30 For 30 documentary.
[Numbers from ESPN PR 7.9 a, b; Fox Sports; Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 7.9]
