Viewership more than doubled for Thursday’s USA Basketball exhibition game. In other news, live coverage of the Tour de France hit a high point on NBC, and ratings for the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open were flat.
- Big Increase For USA Basketball Opener: Thursday’s United States/Dominican Republic basketball exhibition game drew 2.718 million viewers on ESPN, up 142% from the United States’ opener against Canada in 2008 (1.122M). Despite being a 54-point blowout, the game easily drew more viewers than the average NBA regular season game on ESPN during the 2011-12 season (1.863M). (Thursday’s numbers from TV By the Numbers)
- 0.8 Rating High Water Mark For Tour de France on NBC: Live coverage of Stage 8 of the 2012 Tour de France drew a 0.8 final rating on NBC Sunday, marking the network’s highest Tour de France rating (five telecasts). Live coverage of Stage 7 on Saturday drew a 0.7 final rating. For some perspective, taped coverage of Stage 1 drew a 0.7 rating the previous weekend, and the network’s two taped telecasts last year each drew a 0.6. (Sports Business Daily)
- Ratings Flat For Final Round of U.S. Women’s Open: Final round coverage of the U.S. Women’s Open drew a 0.8 final rating on NBC Sunday afternoon, even with last year (0.8), and down a tick from 2010 (0.9). Third round action on Saturday also drew a 0.8, up 33% from last year (0.6) and up 14% from 2010 (0.7). (Sports Business Daily)
