The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry lifted FOX to a season-high and ESPN to a near-season high. Plus: a good weekend for F1, NASCAR, the WNBA and golf.
FOX scores season-high for Yankees-Red Sox
Regional Major League Baseball action featuring Yankees-Red Sox averaged a 1.4 rating and 2.64 million viewers on FOX Saturday night, the largest MLB audience of the current season and top regular season audience overall since the “Field of Dreams” game last August.
The same matchup the following night averaged a 1.2 and 2.18 million on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, ranking second for the season on cable behind another game between the rivals on the opening weekend of the season (2.48M).
F1 continues to rise; NASCAR on USA outpaces NBCSN
Sunday’s Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix averaged a 0.6 rating and 1.07 million viewers on ESPN2, the largest audience on record for an Austria-based race. Viewership increased 8% from last year’s Austrian GP (984).
The F1 season is now averaging 965,000 viewers, up 34% from the same point last year. Austin, Texas, is the highest rated local market at a 1.6 rating, followed by Chicago, the Bay Area and St. Louis (1.1) and Miami (1.0).
In other racing action, the NASCAR Cup Series race from Atlanta averaged a 1.5 and 2.63 million on USA Network — up 3% in ratings and 4% in viewership from last year on NBCSN (1.5, 2.5M) and a larger audience than any race on NBCSN last season.
Finally, the SRX racing series drew a 0.63 and 981,000 on CBS Saturday night. All four races this season have finished in the 900,000 viewer range.
WNBA All-Star Game up big, hits seven-year high
The WNBA All-Star Game averaged a 0.46 rating and 734,000 viewers on ABC Sunday afternoon, up 70% in ratings and 53% in viewership from last year on ESPN (0.27, 481K) and the most-watched edition of the game since 2015, when it aired on both ESPN and ABC (746K). Of the 18 total WNBA All-Star games (1999-present), this year’s edition ranks ninth.
Golf: Scottish Open and celebrity championship hit highs
Final round coverage of golf’s Scottish Open averaged a 1.3 rating and 2.17 million viewers on CBS, the largest audience on record for the event. Viewership jumped 163% from 2019, the last time coverage aired on a broadcast network (0.6, 872K).
Third round action the previous day drew a 0.9 and 1.38 million, also up dramatically from 2019 (0.50, 685K).
Later in the day, the final round of the annual Celebrity Golf Championship drew a 0.8 and 1.36 million on NBC — the largest audience for the event since 2009. The full tournament averaged 963,000 across NBC, Golf Channel and Peacock, up 19% from last year and a record for the event.
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 7.12, network PR]
