The Royals and the Brewers likely saw viewership decline. The Blue Jays on Sportsnet averaged 500,000 viewers in 2020, up 23% year-over-year, and reached 9.8 million Canadians (27% of the population). The Dodgers increased their reach. Versus the same August weekend last year, which featured the same two teams, ratings fell 14% (from 1.4) and viewership 13% (from 2.21M). Indeed, the charity golf match earned record TV ratings in May. While the Cleveland Indians had the highest rating number for 2020 (6.61), compared with a 2.50 rating for the New York Yankees, the Yankees saw their viewership average 118,739 more per game. It is unclear if this is just an American phenomena. So as with so much else in 2020, the question of whether viewership was up, down or sideways requires some guesswork. 'Boycott the MLB' crowd takes an L as Giants-Dodgers and Yankees-Nationals draw record TV ratings Eric Ting , SFGATE July 24, 2020 Updated: July 24, 2020 8:09 p.m. 2020 Natl Sportswriter Of The Year Nominee, BBWAA, MLB, Motorsports, will look to the postseason, such as World Series that will be site-neutral at Globe Life Field in Texas. Here’s what we can consider as part of the data at hand based on teams’ place in the standings throughout the season. Viewers for the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup championship fell 61%. SNF, Week 2: 17.69 million viewers for New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks, a steep decline from 2019 SNF, Week 1: 18.94 million viewers for … The PGA Championship did 5.15 million viewers, NASCAR: MIS did 2.37 million viewers, and a game between the Lakers and Rockets did 1.62 million viewers. NLSN The previous low had been 12.7 million viewers in the 2012 World Series, a San Francisco Giants sweep of the Detroit Tigers. Average viewership for Red Sox games was down 54%, according to Brown, from 158,614 in 2019 to 72,515 this year. We will not miss you. Of baseball’s other top ten markets, the first half viewership is a mixed bag. In that sense, Karp said the industry is viewing 2020 as a one-off and that the ratings for anything should not be compared to 2019. Viewership for Major League Baseball on regional sports networks were up for 2020. With the shift from 162 games to 60 and the updated Nielsen numbers, the 2020 comps to 2019 are not perfect. Of the viewership data provided by Home Team Sports, a division of FOX Sports, four U.S. club RSNs have ratings numbers this year, but not viewership because of the metering constraints: the Kansas City Royals (ratings down 9% with a 4.61 compared to 5.08 in 2019), Cincinnati Reds (down 18% with a 4.67 rating compared to 5.72 last season), Milwaukee Brewers (down 35% with a 4.26 rating compared to 6.53 in 2019) and San Diego Padres (up 37% with a 5.55 compared to 4.05 last season). Butterworth says the decline in baseball popularity might have to do with how we view the games. TV ratings are down for major sports events: a record low for Game 1 of the NBA Finals and a 13-year low for the Stanley Cup Finals. The league’s lowest viewership average was for the Miami Marlins, who despite a 2% increase saw an average of only 21,082 per game. Through 14 games, the Major League Baseball Division Series has averaged approximately 1.67 million viewers across TBS, FS1 and MLB Network — down 37% from the same number of games last year (2.70M). Unsurprisingly given their market size, the Yankees and the Dodgers led the way in average viewers per game, followed by the Phillies, and Cubs. In addition, because Nielsen moved to track people who are mobile, the total number of traditional TV households has dropped. The biggest ratings drop was by the Boston Red Sox on NESN (a 58% decline—2.14, compared with 5.15 in 2019), followed by the Los Angeles Angels on FOX Sports West (a 40% decline—a 0.78 rating, compared with 1.29 last season) and the Seattle Mariners on ROOT Sports NorthWest (a 38% decline—a 2.17 rating, compared with 3.49 in 2019). As noted, total television households dropped with the change in how Nielsen is capturing viewership, and with that, ratings dropped. The NBA's ratings also help up … Dubbed “The Match II,” the game featuring Tom Brady, Phil Mickelson, Peyton Manning, and Tiger Woods peaked at an amazing 6.3 million viewers and raised more than $20 million for … August 2019 viewership was down 9 percent from April 2019 viewership, as people watch less television in summer than in spring. The opening night of Major League Baseball’s virus-shortened 2020 season set TV viewership records for Walt Disney Co’s ESPN sports channel, the network said on Friday. Fox's World Series Game 1 topped ABC's NBA Finals Game 1 viewership … — With assistance by Brandon Kochkodin Published on October 13, 2020, 3:49 PM EDT The previous high was 4.10 million for the Yankees-Nationals season opener in July. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. Toronto Raptors playoff viewership (compared to 2019 when they won a championship) was up 26% in Canada. It was baseball’s most-watched game outside of a World Series in three years. Currently, only 25 RSN MLB teams play their home games in Nielsen Local People Meter markets where demographic audience information is available daily and play on an RSN that pays for Nielsen’s NSI service in that market. Below are the average P2+ numbers for the 25 metered MLB RSNs for 2020. This year, that hurt leagues like the N.B.A. Motorsports events were moved about seeing jewel events like the Indianapolis 500 run in August instead of Memorial Day weekend. 70 million fans, the shortened season that went fanless for 60 games saw 26 million people that had to turn to television or streaming to get their fix, instead of in-person. After some impressive television ratings for the restart of baseball there was a severe dropoff in the audience share as the week went forward. Likewise, 2021 should not be compared to 2020. Author (data compiled from Qlik Blog and Baseball-Reference.com) There are a multitude of reasons for the change. 2020 National Sportswriter Of The Year nominee. moved to track viewers not just at home but also digitally. Other prior written work of mine can be found at Variety, USA Today, Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and Fangraphs. But viewership of major sporting events is down across the board, including in leagues with no social-justice messaging to speak of. Both the PGA and NASCAR beat it in viewership last week. Viewers for the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup championship fell 61%. TV ratings are down for major sports events: a record low for Game 1 of the NBA Finals and a 13-year low for the Stanley Cup Finals. MLB viewership is also down but I’m having a difficult time finding good data. But viewership of major sporting events is down across the board, including in leagues with no social-justice messaging to speak of. The lowest ratings for an entire World Series was in 2020, a six-game series won by the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Tampa Bay Rays, which averaged a 5.2 rating and a 12 share; it also had the lowest average viewership, at 9.785 million. The 2020 candidate and universal-income advocate is reportedly asking New York politicians about supporting him next year in the Democratic primary. Even recent NFL numbers seem to be down or mixed. Game six of the 2020 series, which saw the Dodgers clinch the title, peaked at 14.35 million viewers, with an average of 12.62 million viewers and a 15 per cent audience share. Finally, based on a normal 162 game MLB season drawing approx. Average viewership was slightly larger in 1978 (44,278,950) than in 1980 (42,300,000). 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