NBC scored the largest audience ever for the English Premier League on U.S. television. In other news, the NHL’s annual Black Friday game had a slight drop in overnights, and the college football Bayou Classic had a big increase.
NBC Earns Largest EPL Audience in U.S. TV History
- The November 22 Manchester United/Arsenal English Premier League match drew 1.4 million viewers on NBC, up 111% from Chelsea/West Ham last year (663K) and the largest U.S. TV audience ever for an EPL match. The previous high was just under 1.4 million for a 2012 Manchester United/Chelsea on FOX. Shifting to this past weekend, Sunderland/Chelsea drew a 0.7 overnight — up 40% from last year’s Newcastle/West Brom match (0.5).
NHL Black Friday Overnights Down Slightly
- The Rangers/Flyers NHL Thanksgiving Showdown drew a 1.0 overnight rating on NBC Friday afternoon, down a tick from Rangers/Bruins last year (1.1) but even with Red Wings/Bruins in 2011 (1.0). The 2012 game was canceled by the NHL owners.
Bayou Classic Overnights Up on NBC
- NBC earned a 0.7 overnight for Saturday’s Grambling/Southern Bayou Classic, up 40% from last year (0.5) and even with 2012 (0.7). The game faced hefty competition from other college football games on ESPN, CBS, ABC and FOX, with those four networks combining for approximately an 11.2 overnight during the mid-afternoon window.
(Numbers from NBC Sports Group Press Box, Sports Business Daily)
