NBC Earns 10.4 Overnight For Kentucky Derby, Tied With '10 As Best Since '92

NBC earned a 10.4 overnight Nielsen rating for the race portion of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday from 6:00-7:00pm ET, up 16% from last year and tied with ’10 as the best overnight for the race since ’92. Louisville topped all markets with a 43.7 local rating, followed by Ft. Myers-Naples (19.7) and Cincinnati (18.8). Pre-race coverage on NBC from 5:00-6:00pm earned a 6.2 overnight, up 15% from last year (NBC).

THE HORSE WHISPERERS: In Tampa, Tom Jones writes NBC's horse racing coverage of the Derby is "right up there with the best sports broadcast of the year, and you don't have to be a horse racing enthusiast to enjoy it." NBC's Bob Costas and Tom Hammond "do a masterful job hosting, satisfying both the casual viewers and die-hards." Meanwhile, Donna Brothers "might be the best sideline reporter on television." The only "clunker in the coverage was how the network used Michelle Beadle," as she was there to "provide fun features and report on topics such as fashion, celebrities and so forth." Jones: "Good idea, but it felt like NBC just threw her out there and said, 'Okay, be funny'" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 5/6). In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes with a 19-horse Derby field and "bouncing odds from the morning line -- in some part due to an off-track -- it mostly kept the odds in view in a crawl" (N.Y. POST, 5/6).