Pro Bowl Ratings "Likely Lowest Ever" [UPDATE: Worse than NBA, MLB]
Pro Bowl drew 5.0 overnight rating on ESPN. Likely lowest ever. Down sharply from ESPN's 5.6 in 2015 and NBC's 6.7 in 2014
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) February 1, 2016
The Pro Bowl ratings on ESPN were down sharply from last year, according to Austin Karp from the Sports Business Journal. This is indicative of a trend, which he tweeted about last year at this time:
Pro Bowl drew 5.6 overnight rating on ESPN, down from 6.7 on NBC last year, which competed w/ Grammys. Game drew 7.7 on NBC in '13
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) January 26, 2015
Though there was competition from Grease Live—which apparently performed well in the ratings—it’s evident that these numbers for the Pro Bowl would be a disappointment for ESPN. It’s unclear what exactly could reverse this trend, but the players who did bother to show up in Hawaii on Sunday were essentially playing two-hand touch by the second half. Yes, they need to do everything to prevent injuries, but at some point the contest becomes not worthwhile.
PFT’s Michael David Smith suggested a skills competition, and we have proposed something similar as well. Whether it’s that or something else, the Pro Bowl is in dire need of a shake-up.
UPDATE: Sports Media Watch ran the comparables:
"Compared to other All-Star games, the Pro Bowl ranks well behind last year’s MLB All-Star Game on FOX (7.8) and even last year’s NBA All-Star Game, which aired on TNT and TBS (5.5). It did top Sunday’s NHL All-Star Game on NBCSN (1.2), though that is not saying much."
Even noting that the NBA’s game ran on two channels, these are harrowing numbers for the NFL and ESPN.