Ratings Roundup: NLDS Hands MLB Net, FS1 Record Highs; ESPN, TBS Wild Card Games Generate Big Numbers
Story Highlights
MLB Network’s coverage of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Game 2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Oct. 4 set records as the most-watched and highest-rated program in the network’s history. MLB Network’s game telecast, which began at 9:30 p.m. ET, drew 1.8 million viewers and a 1.7 coverage rating, marking increases of 38% and 31% over the previous highs for its telecast of the 2012 ALDS Game Two between the Detroit Tigers and the Oakland Athletics. Viewership peaked with 2.2 million viewers from 12:45-1:00 a.m. ET…
…The prior night, the Cardinals thrilling 10-9 comeback win over the Dodgers in Game 1 attracted an audience of 3.595 million viewers to FOX Sports 1, breaking the channel’s previous record of 3.526 million set in February. The home markets for yesterday’s NLDS games set individual market ratings for a televised event on FOX Sports 1. St. Louis (17.4) and Los Angeles (7.1) each set their mark for the Cardinals-Dodgers contest, while Washington DC (6.9) and San Francisco (6.6) set theirs for the Giants-Nationals tilt. Los Angeles also set a new household reach mark for a single market watching a FOX Sports 1 event (392,000 households).
Earlier in the day, FOX Sports 1’s Giants-Nationals match-up, which San Francisco won 3-2, drew 2.044 million viewers making it the network’s most-watched non-prime time event. It is also the highest-rated and most-watched weekday daytime program in FOX Sports 1 history. FOX Sports 1 posted a .84 Total Day household rating (6:00 AM – 3:00 AM), likely making it the most-watched day since its August 2013 launch once national ratings are released.
On the digital front, yesterday was the best day ever for authenticated viewership for FOX Sports GO, and both NLDS matchups attracted more than twice the streams than FOX Sports GO’s previous high-water mark for an MLB event set during the 2014 MLB All-Star Game…
…ESPN’s telecast of San Francisco at Pittsburgh on Oct. 1 was the most-watched and highest-rated MLB Wild Card Game across any network ever. ESPN’s inaugural MLB Wild Card Game, which featured the Giants defeating the Pirates 8-0, was seen by a record 5,591,000 viewers and delivered a record 3.6 rating, according to fast nationals from Nielsen. The figures represent a 22 percent increase in viewership and a 20 percent increase in ratings compared to the 2013 NL Wild Card Game, also involving the Pittsburgh Pirates (versus the Cincinnati Reds).
The Giants-Pirates game was also the most-viewed MLB game ever on WatchESPN with more than 9.9 million total minutes viewed and an average minute audience of 48,589. Those figures are 126 percent higher for total minutes and 156 percent higher for average minute audience than the previous WatchESPN record.
The NL Wild Card Game set local market records in both Pittsburgh and San Francisco. In Pittsburgh, the telecast delivered a 22.6 rating, the highest for an MLB game ever on ESPN. In San Francisco, the game posted a 13.3, also ranking as the highest ever for an MLB game on ESPN…
…TBS’s exclusive presentation of the 2014 MLB American League Wild Card Game – the Oakland Athletics vs. Kansas City Royals – averaged 5,234,000 total viewers, an increase of 12 percent over an average of 4,675,000 total viewers for the two MLB Wild Card Games airing on the network last year. The corresponding 3.3 U.S. HH rating is up 10 percent over the average 3.0 U.S. HH rating in 2013, based on Nielsen Fast Nationals. Last night’s telecast propelled TBS to win the night across all of cable television. The telecast – a Royals 9-8 victory in 12 innings – is up 14 percent among total viewers and 10 percent in U.S. HH rating when compared with last year’s N.L. Wild Card Game between the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates (4,599,000 total viewers; 3.0 U.S. HH rating) which aired on the same day of the week and similarly marked the start of the MLB Postseason a year ago.
TBS’ coverage of the A’s/Royals game peaked with a 4.1 U.S. HH rating and 6.5 million total viewers from 11:30-11:45 p.m. ET. Locally, the telecast earned a 30.3 metered market rating in Kansas City – the highest rating on record for an MLB game on TBS in the market – and a 9.9 in the Bay Area. In terms of market size, Kansas City ranks 31st among the 56 metered markets with 923,000 television households…
CBS and NFL Network’s broadcast of THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL on Thursday, Oct. 2, which featured Green Bay’s 42-10 victory over Minnesota, delivered increases in ratings and viewers from last year. The game earned an average fast-national household rating/share of 9.8/17, +113% from last year’s 4.6/8, and delivered 16.5 million viewers, +117% from last year’s 7.6 million viewers on NFL Network and over-the-air stations within the two team markets (October 3, 2013: Buffalo-Cleveland). The household rating/share and viewer average peaked at 11.2/19 and 19.1 million viewers, respectively, from 9:00-9:30 PM, ET.
Through four games of the CBS/NFL Network schedule, THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL is averaging a HH rating/share of 9.9/17, +65% compared to last year’s 6.0/10; and 16.2 million viewers, +71% compared to last year’s 9.5 million – on pace to be the highest-rated and most-watched THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL season ever. The past three weeks of THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL have resulted in three of the four highest margins of victory for all games played on Thursday since 2006, the inaugural season of THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL. Since 2006, the average margin of victory for Thursday games is 13.6 points. In non-Thursday games, it is 12 points.
Compared to last year’s CBS primetime programming, THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL was +33% in viewers (15.8 million from 11.9 million); and +25% in HH rating (9.4/16 from 7.5/12), including +83% in Adults 18-49 (5.5 from 3.0) and +46% in Adults 25-54 (6.0 from 4.1). CBS/NFL Network’s HH rating/share of 9.4/16 in primetime beat each of the broadcast networks: +34% better than ABC (7.0/12), +169% better than FOX (3.5/6) and +194% better than NBC (3.2/5). CBS/NFL Network’s viewership of 15.8 million in primetime was +52% better than ABC (10.4m), +182% better than FOX (5.6m) and +229% better than NBC (4.8m)…
…ESPN’s audience for the 2014 fiscal year rose six percent compared to 2013, according to Nielsen. The network averaged 1,012,000 viewers (P2+) throughout the year (October – September), compared to 959,000 a year ago. The leading factors behind the increase were the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Monday Night Football, college football bowl games and the NBA Playoffs.
In addition, ESPN’s family of networks – ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Classic – enjoyed a collective four percent increase. The six U.S. networks averaged a combined 1,445,000 viewers, up from 1,387,000 for the 2013 fiscal year.For ESPNU, it was a record year, with its audience rising seven percent to a new high. Also, the network enjoying the largest year-over-year increase was ESPN Deportes. Its audience grew 14 percent…
…NBCSN’s third-quarter viewership increased 20% in primetime and 14% in Total Day (6 a.m. to 6 a.m.) compared to Q3 in 2013 – marking the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth for the network. NBCSN averaged 124,000 primetime viewers for the quarter (June 30-September 28) – up 20% from 103,000 in last year’s Q3, while Total Day viewership increased 14% to 84,000 (vs. 74,000 last year). NBCSN’s Total Day third-quarter growth compared to 2013 is the largest increase in viewers for any sports cable network.
Viewership for three Formula One races averaged 416,000 viewers, an increase of 58% from last year’s third quarter (263,000). IndyCar viewership for seven third-quarter races was up 20% to 370,000 average viewers (from 309,000 for Q3 in 2013). Premier League matches on NBCSN have averaged 432,000 viewers — up 13% from last year at this time (381,000 viewers). The 2014 Tour de France on NBCSN, including live stage coverage and the nightly Tour Primetime show, averaged 253,000 viewers, up 8% from last year (235,000).The Dan Patrick Show, which airs weekdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET, averaged 58,000 viewers on NBCSN, marking its best-ever quarterly audience on the network and a 107% jump from the comparable time period in 2013…
