SportsBusiness Daily — Sports Business Resources — your sports business news and information source. Learn More
Advanced
Home About Us Advertise With Us Marketplace/Classifieds College & University Program Subscribe/Trial My Account

Tuesday
May 5, 2009
Print This Issue


 
MOST VIEWED STORIES
View the top 20 stories
 
Recent Issues
Sports Media

I Am Mine: Kentucky Derby Earns Highest Overnights In 17 Years

NBC Earns Its Highest Overnight Nielsen 
Rating For Kentucky Derby Since '92
NBC’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby earned a 10.2/22 overnight Nielsen rating during the race segment of the telecast (6:00-7:00pm ET), up 7% from last year’s 9.5/21 rating. The 10.2/22 is the highest overnight rating for the race since ’92 (NBC). MEDIA LIFE MAGAZINE’s Toni Fitzgerald writes the Derby’s ratings increase "may have been due in part to a huge promotional effort launched by NBC across many of its NBC Universal properties, especially those targeting women” (MEDIALIFEMAGAZINE.com, 5/5). In N.Y., Joe Drape noted NBC "began promoting the race on Super Bowl Sunday," and tried to "broaden the Kentucky Derby’s audience by targeting the casual viewer" via different outlets including "Today," "The Tonight Show" and female-centric networks Bravo and Oxygen (NYTIMES.com, 5/4).

BAD TIMING? In Dallas, Barry Horn wrote "kudos to NBC for reporting what it knew" about the bubble collapse at the Cowboys' practice facility during the Derby telecast. But Horn noted NBC's Bob Costas prefaced an interview with Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones with a mention of the September 20 Giants-Cowboys "Sunday Night Football" game at the Cowboys' new stadium. Horn: "Maybe NBC should have shelved the shameless self-promotion of its Sunday Night broadcast of the Giants-Cowboys game at the new stadium in Arlington" (DALLASNEWS.com, 5/4). In San Antonio, Buck Harvey asks, "What was Costas thinking?" (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS, 5/5).


Get A Free Trial To SportsBusiness Daily

Reader Comments

To post comments on this article, log in or register for a free trial.

Related Stories By Company Related Stories By Sport
NHL Sees Some Ratings Gains, Losses Post-Olys
March 8, 2010 : SportsBusiness Daily

NBC Averages 13.8 Rating For Olympics
March 2, 2010 : SportsBusiness Daily

Do Olympic Ads Need Warm Weather?
March 2, 2010 : SportsBusiness Daily

NBC Averaging 13.9 Primetime Rating
March 1, 2010 : SportsBusiness Daily

Canada-U.S. Earns Big 17.6 Overnight Rating
March 1, 2010 : SportsBusiness Daily

Sports Figures Appear On Reality Shows
March 15, 2010 : SportsBusiness Daily

Aqueduct Casino Deal Scrapped
March 12, 2010 : SportsBusiness Daily

Calipari Appearing On Maker's Mark Labels
March 2, 2010 : SportsBusiness Daily

Cordish Moving Forward On Maryland Casino
December 23, 2009 : SportsBusiness Daily

Belmont Stakes Could Be Canceled This Year
December 21, 2009 : SportsBusiness Daily

ALSO IN THIS SECTION


A Publication of Street & Smith's Sports Group.
Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (REVISED 2009-06-23) and Privacy Policy (REVISED 2009-06-23).

© 2010 Street & Smith's Sports Group and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Street & Smith's Sports Group.