Ratings For Sports @ Nielsen.

Nielsen Media Research released local demographic ratings information for several major sporting events in June. The ratings were available for the first time in six large metropolitan markets because of the recent introduction of Local People Meters (LPMs), which provide electronic and continuous demographic ratings.

The markets that have recently introduced LPMs are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. A seventh LPM market – Boston – has been offering LPM data since 2002.

Prior to the introduction of LPMs, demographic data were not available for any local viewing in June – including sporting events – because June is not a “sweeps” month (the four to seven periods per year when local demographic information is collected by paper diaries.) Having demographic information available via LPMs enhances the ability of buyers and sellers of local advertising to cost-effectively target specific groups of viewers.

Nielsen’s LPMs reported that the seven-game NBA Finals on ABC reached a quarter of all adults in the six new LPM markets and up to half of all African American adults (See Table 1 in the attached file):

More than half of all African Americans adults in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco watched at least part of the NBA Finals. This was about twice as high as the overall viewing by the total population in those two markets.

In each of the other four LPM markets (New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles) more than 40% of all adult African Americans watched some of the NBA Finals.

In Chicago, 31.2% of all adults watched at least part of the series. This was the highest overall reach among the six new LPM markets.

The NBA Finals was the highest rated sporting event in June in four of the six new LPM markets. In New York and Philadelphia, the Belmont Stakes had the highest ratings among adults (see tables 2-6 for more detail in the attached file).

In every LPM market, the ratings for the NBA Finals were twice as high for Men as for Women.

The highest overall adult rating for the NBA Finals was in Los Angeles with a 6.3 rating.

The NBA rating among African Americans was double digits in every LPM market, peaking at 17.8 in Los Angeles. African American viewing of the Finals in all six LPM markets was more than eight times higher than that of any other June sporting event.

By market, highlights of the LPM June ratings were (see tables 2-6 for more detail in the attached file):

New York – New York is the home town to the third leg of thoroughbred racing’s Triple Crown, and, with a 6.3 rating, delivered the highest overall adult rating of any of the LPM markets. Ratings for men and women viewers of the Belmont were almost equal. For the U.S. Open Women’s Golf tournament, twice as many men watched the event as women.

Los Angeles – Next to the NBA Finals, the most watched sporting event among adults in Los Angeles was the Indianapolis 500, with a rating of 3.9. The highest LPM rating for the U.S. Open Woman’s Golf tournament (a 1.7 rating) was in Los Angeles

Chicago – The Indianapolis 500 scored its highest rating among adults in Chicago, with a 6.1. Saturday baseball also had its highest rating in Chicago with a 2.7 rating.

San Francisco – The Indianapolis 500 was the highest rated event among women in San Francisco, with a 3.3 rating. The Belmont Stakes overall adult rating in San Francisco was less than a third of what it was in New York (1.8 vs. 6.3, respectively).

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Open Women’s Golf tournament had its highest rating among adults in Washington, D.C. with a 1.6 rating. Men’s ratings for this event were three times higher than Women’s.

Philadelphia – The Belmont Stakes was the most popular event among both men and women, with a 7.2 and 4.6 rating respectively. Compared to all six markets, the NBA Finals had its lowest rating among African Americans in Philadelphia, with a 10.3 rating.