The NFL schedule release was no competition for the NBA and NHL playoffs. In other news, Chelsea and Manchester United continued to move the needle for NBC last weekend and the Diamondbacks have gotten off to their best start in the ratings since 2005.
NFL Schedule Release No Match For NBA, NHL Playoffs
- Coverage of the NFL schedule release drew 342,000 viewers on ESPN (8-10 PM ET) and 128,000 on NFL Network (8-11 PM) Tuesday night. The combined viewership of roughly 470,000 viewers was a fraction of the audience for the NBA Playoffs on TNT (3.3M and 3.7M) and trailed five of the night’s seven NBA and NHL playoff games overall — topping only Wizards/Raptors on NBA TV (233K) and Canucks/Flames on USA Network (245K). (via Sports TV Ratings)
Chelsea/Manchester United Tops 1M on NBC
- Last Saturday’s Chelsea/Manchester United English Premier League match drew a 0.7 final rating and 1.0 million viewers on NBC, up 40% in ratings and 32% in viewership from Sunderland/Chelsea last year (0.5, 765K), and the fifth-largest audience of the season on the NBC family of networks. Each of the five most-watched matches this season has included Chelsea and/or Manchester United. (NBC Sports)
Diamondbacks off to Best Start in Decade
- Through 13 telecasts, Arizona Diamondbacks Major League Baseball games have averaged a 4.6 rating on Fox Sports Arizona — up 42% from the comparable point last year and the team’s highest average through 13 games since 2005 (5.6). The recent Diamondbacks/Giants series averaged a 5.5 rating on the network, the top series since Rockies/Diamondbacks in August 2011 (6.1). (foxsports.com)
