Ratings Roundup: Live Poker Scores for ESPN; WNBA All-Star Game Most Watched Since ‘07

ESPN’s first-ever daily live coverage of the World Series of Poker Main Event last week drew big improvements over last year. According to the Nielsen ratings, the 10 telecasts on ESPN2 averaged a 0.4 household coverage rating, reaching a total of 415,000 viewers per episode. The primetime broadcast on the ESPN flagship telecast was even more impressive, drawing a 0.5 rating and reaching 646,000 viewers. This doesn’t even account for those who watched all of the broadcasts online at ESPN3, which saw over 23 million minutes consumed by viewers…

… The numbers weren’t flattering but last Saturday’s WNBA All-Star Game on ABC saw a notable boost in viewership. The game earned a 0.54 final rating and 756,000 viewers on ABC Saturday, up 59% in ratings and 76% in viewership from last year’s game on ESPN (0.34, 429K), and up 35% and 46%, respectively, from the 2009 game on ABC (0.40, 519K).
Saturday’s game ranks as the highest rated, most-viewed WNBA All-Star Game since 2007 (0.69, 950K, ABC). The most-viewed WNBA All-Star Game in history (2003) earned 1.441 million viewers….

…The Arizona Diamondbacks grabbed their best television ratings of the season in Tuesday night’s win over the San Diego Padres at Petco Field. Fox Sports Arizona and Nielsen Media Research said the July 26 game drew 93,735 Phoenix area households. That translates into a 5.2 local television rating. The highest the team has grabbed this season. It’s also the biggest local TV ratings for the D-backs since a June 23 inter-league game last year against the New York Yankees.