NBC saw a peak rating of 9.9 from 6:45-7:00pm ET on Saturday as Justify won the raceGETTY IMAGES
Justify’s Triple Crown win at the Belmont Stakes on Saturday afternoon drew an 8.1 overnight rating for NBC. That figure for the race segment is down 34% from a 12.3 from ’15, when American Pharoah became the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. This year’s race is also down 37% from ’14 (12.9) when California Chrome fell short of the feat. Yesterday’s rating is up 138% from last year, when NBC drew a 3.4 overnight without a Triple Crown on the line. When Big Brown attempted to win the Triple Crown in '08, ABC drew a 9.5 overnight for the Belmont. NBC saw a peak rating of 9.9 from 6:45-7:00pm ET on Saturday as Justify won the race. Louisville led all markets with a 19.0 local rating, followed by Ft. Myers-Naples (15.2), Baltimore (12.7), West Palm Beach (12.7) and Tampa-St. Petersburg (12.1) (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
MAKING THE MOMENT: THE ATHLETIC’s Richard Deitsch writes NBC’s production was “sensational -- particularly the race call by Larry Collmus and the tremendous audio and visuals after the race thanks to the outrider camera employed by NBC” (THEATHLETIC.com, 6/11).
