ESPN earned a 4.0 U.S. rating and 6.4 million viewers for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Brickyard 400 last Sunday afternoon, up 11% and 12%, respectively, from last year’s record-low 3.6 rating and 5.7 million viewers. Last Sunday’s race was also the second most-viewed telecast on all of cable TV for the week ending July 31, behind only an episode of “Pawn Stars” on History Channel on July 25.
STAR GAZERS: ESPN2 averaged 781,000 viewers for the MLS All-Star Game on July 27, which saw the league’s stars take on EPL club Manchester United. That figure is up 9.4% from 714,000 viewers last year, when ManU was also the opponent. Telefutura also broadcast the match, averaging 665,000 viewers on the Spanish-language network.
SWINGING A HOT BAT: The D'Backs-Giants game Tuesday night, in which the D'Backs tied the Giants atop the NL West standings, drew a 6.6 local rating in the Phoenix area on FS Arizona. That is the highest rating of the year for a D'Backs game. The previous high was a 5.7 rating set Monday night during the first game of the three-game series.
The chart below lists final Nielsen ratings from recent sports telecasts on broadcast and cable TV. All ratings listed are U.S. ratings.
| TELECAST | DATE | NET | TIME (ET) | RAT. |
| X Games 17 | 7/30 | ABC | 4:00-6:00pm | 0.6 |
| "Next on the Tee: The Future of Golf" | 7/30 | CBS | 2:00-3:00pm | 0.3 |
| PGA Tour: Greenbrier Classic: Third Round | 7/30 | CBS | 3:00-6:00pm | 0.9 |
| MLB: (regional) | 7/30 | Fox | 4:15-7:15pm | 1.6 |
| Swimming World Championships (taped) | 7/30 | NBC | 1:00-3:00pm | 0.8 |
| Golf: U.S. Senior Open: Third Round | 7/30 | NBC | 3:00-6:00pm | 0.5 |
| Ricoh Women's British Open highlights | 7/31 | ABC | 4:00-5:00pm | 0.3 |
| Breeders' Cup Challenge: Haskell Invitational | 7/31 | ABC | 5:00-6:00pm | 0.8 |
| "Road to the PGA Championship" | 7/31 | CBS | 2:00-3:00pm | 0.4 |
| PGA Tour: Greenbrier Classic: Final Round | 7/31 | CBS | 3:00-6:15pm | 1.3 |
| Swimming World Championships (taped) | 7/31 | NBC | 1:00-3:00pm | 0.7 |
| Golf: U.S. Senior Open: Final Round | 7/31 | NBC | 3:00-6:00pm | 0.6 |
| TELECAST | DATE | NET | TIME (ET) | RAT. | VIEWERS (000) |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup: Brickyard 400 | 7/31 | ESPN | 1:00-4:20pm | 4.0 | 6,377 |
| MLB: Cubs-Cardinals | 7/31 | ESPN | 8:00-11:16pm | 1.6 | 2,376 |
| NASCAR Nationwide Series: Kroger 200 | 7/30 | ESPN | 7:29-9:41pm | 1.3 | 2,059 |
| X Games 17 | 7/31 | ESPN | 5:00-7:22pm | 1.2 | 1,945 |
| X Games 17 | 7/30 | ESPN | 10:00pm-12:17am | 0.8 | 1,388 |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Qualifying | 7/30 | ESPN2 | 2:00-4:30pm | 0.9 | 1,289 |
| X Games 17 | 7/28 | ESPN | 7:00-11:17pm | 0.7 | 1,077 |
| NASCAR Nationwide Series Qualifying | 7/30 | ESPN2 | 4:30-5:30pm | 0.7 | 955 |
| X Games 17 | 7/31 | ESPN2 | 8:07-11:46pm | 0.5 | 950 |
| X Games 17 | 7/30 | ESPN | 2:00-6:09pm | 0.6 | 894 |
