NBC on Saturday drew a 10.5 overnight rating for the race segment of the Kentucky Derby, marking the second-best overnight for the race over the last 25 years. The telecast, which saw Always Dreaming win on a muddy track, is behind only a 10.8 overnight in '15 for American Pharoah's win. The 10.5 overnight also is up 12% from a 9.4 last year for Nyquist's win. Louisville topped all markets on Saturday with a 39.0 local rating, up big from a 33.7 rating in '16. Ft. Myers-Naples was the No. 2 market with a 21.3 local rating, up from a 16.5 last year. Cincinnati finished at No. 3 with an 18.8 local rating, up from a 16.6 last year (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
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KENTUCKY DERBY OVERNIGHT RATINGS TREND ON NBC (RACE SEGMENT)
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YEAR
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OVERNIGHT
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WINNING HORSE
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'17
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10.5
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Always Dreaming
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'16
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9.4
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Nyquist
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'15
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10.8
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American Pharoah
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'14
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10.1
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California Chrome
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'13
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10.4
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Orb
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WINNER'S CIRCLE: In Tampa, Tom Jones writes the "best sports TV of the weekend" was NBC's broadcast of the Derby, as the net had a "fast-paced" telecast lasting four hours and 45 minutes. NBC "never lingers too long on one topic, and therefore, the viewer is either entertained by it all or it can drift in and out of the broadcast and never feel like he or she is missing anything." Jones: "Few networks cover a sporting event better than NBC covers horse racing" (
TAMPA BAY TIMES, 5/8). SI.com's Richard Deitsch writes the racing portion of NBC's Derby coverage is "consistently excellent." One "small touch that really added something for viewers" on Saturday was the camera on outrider Greg Blasi that "provided immediate images of jockey John Velazquez seconds after he won aboard Always Dreaming" (
SI.com, 5/8).
