NBC Sees 12% Jump In Overnight Rating For Kentucky Derby

NBC Earns 8.3/18 Overnight For Kentucky Derby Coverage

NBC earned an 8.3/18 overnight Nielsen rating for its Kentucky Derby coverage from 5:00-6:45pm ET Saturday, up 12% from last year and tying ’01, ’02 and ’04 as the highest overnight for the event since ’92. The race portion of the event, from 5:45-6:45pm, earned a 9.8/21, up 10% from an 8.9/20 last year. Meanwhile, NBC pulled a 1.4 overnight for Game Five of the Sharks-Red Wings NHL Western Conference semifinal series on Saturday, up 40% over last year's comparable Devils-Hurricanes game. The decisive Game Six between the Rangers and Sabres earned a 1.4 on Sunday. There was no comparable game last year on NBC (NBC).

REVIEWS: NBC did not show a replay of the race until almost seven minutes after the race was over (THE DAILY). USA TODAY’s Michael Hiestand writes NBC has a “pretty good Kentucky Derby formula, weaving taped storytelling with lots of boots on the ground.” NBC used overhead shots on live race coverage “for the first time,” and the shots helped viewers see how race winner Street Sense moved from 19th to first. NBC’s Tom Hammond “offered a refreshing take” on the $1M bonus for a horse topping Barbaro’s 6 ½-length victory margin offered by Derby presenting sponsor and NBC advertiser Yum Brands. Hammond said the bonus had the “wrong emphasis” and “any self-respecting jockey or trainer would not push their horse” to get it (USA TODAY, 5/7). In DC, Jim Williams writes Hammond “continues to prove he is the best in the business when it comes to horse racing.” Producer Sam Flood and Dir David Michaels “had all the right shows to capture the excitement.” But Williams writes that he “could not hear the actual call of the race clearly. Then some post-race comments were also lost” (WASHINGTON EXAMINER, 5/7).

LOOKING FOR SOME JUICE: CNBC’s Jane Wells reported Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bob Evans stated that “it’s crucial to reinvent horse racing to attract younger fans who’d rather play poker, cheer NASCAR or even watch ballroom dancing on TV.” Wells said Evans admires the success of ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” and “is talking with TV producers about whether a concept that has two legs can work for four. He also wants to use technology to somehow repackage horse racing in new, compelling ways. What those are yet he doesn’t know, and with 90% of bets made off-site, the company has just launched an online betting site in states where it’s legal called twinspires.com.” Evans: “We haven’t disclosed any numbers, but we’ve been overwhelmed” (“Closing Bell,” 5/4).