MLB is seeing its strongest viewership numbers in years heading into the All-Star break. First, Fox is having its best numbers since 2021 (2.06 million viewers) and is up 1% from the same point last year. One example: Fox averaged 2.51 million viewers Saturday night for regionalized action featuring Astros-Dodgers (the second-best Fox MLB window this season to date). ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” package is at its best point since 2017 (1.75 million viewers) -- and is up 11% year-over-year. TBS/truTV is seeing its best numbers since 2015 for non-exclusive games on Tuesday nights, averaging 377,000 and up 17% over last year. For the out-of-market package on MLB.TV, audience numbers are at their best point yet for the platform.
CBS drew 2.68 million viewers for the final round of the PGA Tour John Deere Classic on Sunday, marking the event’s best Sunday since 2015. Overall weekend coverage on CBS was up 5% from last year, even as Saturday had to start at 1pm ET due to weather (normally a 3pm start). Meanwhile, Golf Channel drew 590,000 viewers on Friday (July 4), marking the event’s best second round since the network began airing in 2007.
F1 is also having one of its strongest seasons in years, with races averaging 1.3 million viewers, up 7% from last year -- while seven of 12 races have set event audience records in the U.S. (and 11 of 12 races have seen year-over-year growth). ESPN2 averaged 1.5 million viewers for the British Grand Prix on Sunday morning, marking the event’s best audience figure yet on U.S. airwaves. That’s also up 19% from last year.
This year’s X Games saw a 12% viewership increase across ABC and ESPN2. Viewership across three days of coverage among kids 12-17 was up 328% year-over-year, while adults 25-34 saw a 74% jump. The event also saw a 188% increase in YouTube views (4.4 million total). X Games had 79.2 million total video views across TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Threads and Snap, which is up 21% from 2024. X Games also grew its audience for Roku telecasts, especially among younger demos. The base for adults 18-34 rose 52%, while females 18-34 grew 66%.
4.4m (VOD and video views on YT) - +188.5% yoy
Fox drew 690,000 viewers for France-England on Saturday afternoon, marking the best UEFA Women’s Euros group stage match on record for English-language TV.
The chart below lists viewership figures for select recent sports telecasts.
