Sports ratings roundup: Preakness rises
NBC's race draws 9.4 million viewers, up 6 percent from last year
May 26, 2016
There will be no horse racing Triple Crown winner this year, but that hasn’t affected TV ratings quite yet.
NBC’s coverage of the Preakness Stakes on Saturday averaged 9.4 million total viewers, according to Nielsen, up 6 percent from 8.9 million last year when American Pharoah won the race en route to the Triple Crown.
This year Exaggerator won the Preakness, ending Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist’s bid for a run at the Triple Crown. Nyquist ended up finishing third.
This is the third time in four years the Preakness has averaged at least 9 million viewers, the first such stretch since 2004-’06.
Meanwhile, in other sports ratings:
- Fox Sports 1’s coverage of the NASCAR All-Star Race on Saturday averaged 3.3 million total viewers, down 14 percent from last year. It also posted a 2.0 household rating, the lowest since at least 1999.
It was the third-lowest rating and viewership for a Sprint Cup telecast this season, beating only a race in Kansas two weeks ago and coverage of Daytona 500 qualifying.
- ESPN’s NBA Eastern Conference finals coverage isn’t bringing in the viewers TNT is for the West finals, but it is building momentum. Game four of the series between Cleveland and Toronto on Monday averaged 6.1 million total viewers, the first time the series has surpassed the 6 million-viewer threshold.
Still, that’s the least-watched game four of the East finals since 2008, according to Sports Media Watch.
Tags: horse racing, horse racing ratings, preakness, preakness ratings, preakness stakes, sports tv
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