Golf Channel averaged 521,000 viewers for live coverage of the Solheim Cup last Friday-Sunday, up 121% from ’11, when the event was in Europe and coverage aired primarily in the morning. It was down, however, 10% from ’09, when the event was in the U.S. Sunday afternoon’s final day of play was the most-viewed day this year with 780,000 viewers, but that figure was down from 956,000 viewers for the Sunday finale in ’09.
STARTING LINE: ESPN’s four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series telecasts for the ’13 season to date have averaged a 3.1 rating and 4.8 million viewers, flat compared to the same four races last year. The net’s first two races from Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway saw gains, but the subsequent races from Watkins Glen and Michigan Int’l Raceway both saw year-over-year declines. ABC on Saturday night airs its first NSCS race of the season from Bristol Motor Speedway.
KICK START: NBCSN averaged 192,000 viewers for the EPL Chelsea-Aston Villa match on Wednesday afternoon. That game went head-to-head with FS1’s Arsenal-Fenerbahçe match as part of the UEFA Champions League, which drew 59,000 viewers. Coverage of the opening weekend for the EPL on NBC and NBCSN averaged 443,000 viewers last Saturday and Sunday, up 78% from 249,000 viewers for five games on opening weekend last season on ESPN and Fox Soccer (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
BUCKEYE STATE BASEBALL: FS Ohio has averaged a 8.04 local rating in Cincinnati for Reds games in August to date, up 16% from the July audience and up 5% from the Reds’ season average. The Brewers-Reds game last Friday drew an 11.0 local rating, marking the “highest-rated game this season other than Opening Day.” However, ratings this season are still down 10% from last year (BIZJOURNALS.com, 8/20)….SportsTime Ohio’s rating for Indians games this season “have increased nearly 30 percent compared to this time last year.” Game audience “reportedly increased” 33% in July and 168% in August (CLEVELAND.com, 8/22).
The charts below list final Nielsen ratings from recent sports telecasts.
| TELECAST | DATE | NET | TIME (ET) | RAT. | VIEWERS (000) |
| NFL Preseason: Colts-Giants | 8/18 | Fox | 7:11-10:07pm | 4.1 | 6,469 |
| NFL Preseason: Buccaneers-Patriots | 8/16 | Fox | 8:11-11:13pm | 3.0 | 4,659 |
| MLB: (regional) | 8/17 | Fox | 4:00-7:30pm | 1.7 | 2,400 |
| P&G Gymnastics Championships | 8/17 | NBC | 8:00-10:00pm | 1.5 | 2,270 |
| PGA Tour: Wyndham Championship: Final Round | 8/18 | CBS | 3:00-6:10pm | 1.2 | n/a |
| Soccer: Int'l friendly: Mexico-Ivory Coast | 8/14 | UniMas | 8:50-11:04pm | 1.0 | 1,860 |
| World Track & Field Championships | 8/18 | NBC | 2:30-4:00pm | 1.1 | 1,700 |
| Little League World Series: Westport (CT)-Sammamish (WA) | 8/18 | ABC | 2:00-5:00pm | 1.0 | 1,479 |
| Little League World Series: Nashville (TN)-Corpus Christi (TX) | 8/17 | ABC | 3:00-5:30pm | 1.0 | 1,431 |
| World Track & Field Championships | 8/17 | NBC | 2:30-4:00pm | 0.8 | 1,100 |
| PGA Tour: Wyndham Championship: Third Round | 8/17 | CBS | 3:39-6:00pm | 0.8 | n/a |
| P&G Gymnastics Championships | 8/18 | NBC | 1:00-2:30pm | 0.6 | 955 |
| World Track & Field Championships | 8/17 | NBC | 12:00-12:30pm | 0.6 | 803 |
| EPL: Swansea City-Manchester United | 8/17 | NBC | 12:30-2:30pm | 0.6 | 792 |
| X Game L.A. (repeat) | 8/17 | ABC | 1:00-3:00pm | 0.6 | 733 |
| ATP Western & Southern Open Final: Rafael Nadal d. John Isner | 8/18 | CBS | 12:30-3:00pm | 0.6 | n/a |
| Golf: U.S. Amateur Championship: Final Round | 8/18 | NBC | 4:00-6:00pm | 0.5 | 641 |
| ArenaBowl: Arizona Rattlers-Philadelphia Soul | 8/17 | CBS | 1:00-3:39pm | 0.5 | n/a |
| Golf: U.S. Amateur Championship: Third Round | 8/17 | NBC | 4:00-6:00pm | 0.4 | 560 |
| TELECAST | DATE | NET | TIME (ET) | RAT. | VIEWERS (000) |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Michigan | 8/18 | ESPN | 1:00-4:10pm | 3.0 | 4,585 |
| MLB: Yankees-Red Sox | 8/18 | ESPN | 8:00pm-12:20am | 2.1 | 3,098 |
| NFL Preseason: Chargers-Bears | 8/15 | ESPN | 8:00-11:15pm | 2.0 | 2,969 |
| Little League World Series: Chula Vista (CA)-Newark (DE) | 8/18 | ESPN | 5:00-6:55pm | 1.2 | 1,872 |
| UFC Fight Night: Chael Sonnen d. Shogun Rua | 8/17 | FS1 | 8:00-10:43pm | 1.0 | 1,782 |
| "NASCAR Countdown" | 8/18 | ESPN | 12:00-1:00pm | 1.2 | 1,645 |
| Little League World Series: Urbandale (IA)-Grosse Pointe (MI) | 8/17 | ESPN | 8:03-10:30pm | 0.8 | 1,329 |
| NFL Preseason: Packers-Rams (repeat) | 8/18 | NFLN | 4:00-7:00pm | 0.8 | 1,293 |
| NASCAR Nationwide Series: Mid-Ohio | 8/17 | ESPN | 2:30-5:40pm | 0.9 | 1,287 |
| NFL Preseason: Cowboys-Cardinals | 8/17 | NFLN | 4:30-7:37pm | 0.9 | 1,235 |
