NHL games turned in a solid performance for NBC and NBC Sports Network Sunday. Meanwhile, TNT’s NBA ratings are now up only slightly from last year, while NBA TV continues to have double-digit increases.
- NHL Games Earn Solid Numbers For NBC, NBCSN Sunday: Sunday’s Flyers/Penguins NHL regular season game drew a 1.2 overnight on NBC, up 20% from both Rangers/Flyers last year (1.0), and Red Wings/Flyers in 2010 (1.0). Later in the day, Rangers/Bruins drew 664,000 viewers on NBC Sports Network, the sixth-largest audience for an regular season game on the network, according to Puck the Media. (Puck the Media [1], [2])
- TNT’s NBA Ratings Gains Shrink: Through 33 games, TNT has averaged a 1.7 U.S. rating and 2.627 million viewers for regular season NBA coverage, up 6% in ratings and 7% in viewership from last year’s season-to-date average (1.6, 2.445M, 48 games), and up 55% and 52%, respectively, from the 2009-10 season (1.1, 1.724M, 49 games). Last Thursday, Mavericks/Heat drew a 1.8 U.S. rating (up 13% from Celtics/Spurs last year) and Thunder/Lakers drew a 2.2 (up 22% from Mavericks/Lakers last year). (Turner Sports)
- NBA Viewership Still Up Nearly a Third on NBA TV: Over on NBA TV, 78 regular season NBA games have averaged 0.23 U.S. rating and 340,000 viewers, up 32% in viewership from last season. The first quarter of the year was the highest rated quarter in NBA TV history, with the caveat that the network has only been Nielsen-rated for two years. (Turner Sports via The Futon Critic)
