The MLB All-Star Game hasn’t been the big mid-summer event that it used to be, but Fox could still depend on it winning the primetime ratings. However, this is a different year and NBC has a Tuesday night summer juggernaut combo with America’s Got Talent and World of Dance. As a result, NBC’s primetime lineup averaged a 6.9 rating as opposed to a 6.5 for the All-Star Game on Fox although there was a small silver lining as Sports Business Daily’s Austin Karp points out.

America’s Got Talent alone received an 8.0 overnight from 8-10 p.m. and World of Dance got a 4.7 for the 10 p.m. slot. Marc Berman at Programming Insider notes that NBC’s ratings are up 23% from last year while Fox did see a slight uptick from last year’s record low. Opposite the 2016 All-Star Game, NBC aired repeats thus the huge increase this year.

The other broadcast networks, ABC, CBS and The CW all aired repeats on Tuesday.

The top ten markets for the All-Star Game are as follows:

  1. Kansas City — 16.6
  2. St. Louis — 12.1
  3. Cleveland — 11.9
  4. Minneapolis — 9.6
  5. New York — 9.2
  6. Houston — 8.9
  7. Cincinnati — 8.8
  8. Denver — 7.9
  9. Phoenix — 7.8
  10. Washington D.C. — 7.7

The home market of Miami registered a 5.6.

America’s Got Talent has been NBC’s big summer show and by partnering it with the new World of Dance, Tuesday nights have become a huge night and it certainly offsets running repeats of other programming.

Fox can hang its hat on the slight rise in ratings from last year, but it still has to be disappointed in losing the night to NBC.

[Programming Insider/Fox Sports]

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.

He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.

Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.