MLB’s ‘Home Run Derby,’ All-Star Game Top Live Viewership: The Week in Sports Ratings
Univision, FS1’s Gold Cup coverage scores several slots on live sports ratings list
Fox Sports and ESPN’s coverage of Major League Baseball All-Star festivities generated a ratings home run among last week’s live sports telecasts.
Fox’s July 11 All-Star Game broadcast drew 7 million viewers to top all sports events for the week, according to Nielsen numbers published by SportsMedia Watch. The contest, won by the National League for its first victory over the American League since 2012, was the least-watched baseball All-Star game, dropping 7% from the previous low set last year. The game, however, still remains the most-watched All-Star Game among the major sports, according to SportsMedia Watch.
ESPN’s July 10 Home Run Derby telecast was the second-most watched live sports event last week with 5.52 million, but the number was down from last year’s 6.8 million viewers, and was the lowest since the 2018 event, according to Sports Business Journal.
The conclusion of the CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer tournament placed several telecasts among the top 10 most watched events, including Univision’s coverage of the July 16 Mexico-Panama tournament final, which drew 4.32 million viewers.
ESPN's July 16 telecast of the Wimbledon men's finals between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic finished fourth for the week with 3.19 million viewers, which was the biggest audience for the event since 2019.
Also, ABC's July 15 WNBA All-Star Game drew 850,000 viewers, making it the league’s most-watched All-Star game in 16 years, according to ESPN.
Date | Event | Network | Viewership |
---|---|---|---|
July 11 | MLB All-Star Game | Fox | 7 million |
July 10 | Home Run Derby | ESPN | 5.51 million |
July 16 | Gold Cup 2023 (Mexico-Panama) | Univision | 4.32 million |
July 16 | Wimbledon Men's Finals | ESPN | 3.19 million |
July 12 | Gold Cup 2023 (Jamaica-Mexico) | Univision | 2.77 million |
July 12 | ESPYS Awards | ESPN | 2.33 million |
July 15 | Fox Saturday Baseball | Fox | 2.0 million |
July 12 | Gold Cup 2023 (USA-Panama) | Univision | 1.88 million |
July 16 | Scottish Open Golf Tournament | CBS | 1.86 million |
July 12 | Gold Cup 2023 (USA-Panama) | FS1 | 1.50 million |
Row 10 - Cell 0 | Row 10 - Cell 1 | Row 10 - Cell 2 | Row 10 - Cell 3 |
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R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.