ESPN had declines for a pair of NBA games on Friday. In other news, CBS scored a low overnight for college hoops opposite the NFL playoffs, and NBC’s Premier League coverage neared a season-low.
Friday NBA Down on ESPN
- Friday’s Cavaliers/Rockets NBA regular season game drew a 1.3 final rating and 1.9 million viewers on ESPN, down a tick in ratings and 2% in viewership from Cavaliers/Clippers last year (1.4, 1.9M) but up a tick and 11%, respectively, from Warriors/Thunder in 2014 (1.2, 1.7M). T’Wolves/Thunder had a 0.8 and 1.2 million earlier in the night, down 27% in ratings and viewership from Warriors/Thunder last year (1.1, 1.7M) but flat and up 12%, respectively, from Clippers/Knicks in ’14 (0.8, 1.1M). (via Programming Insider)
College Hoops Low Opposite NFL
- CBS drew a 0.6 overnight rating for the Michigan State/Wisconsin college basketball game opposite the NFL playoffs on Sunday. There were no comparable games last year or in 2014, as those days were occupied by the NFL’s conference championships. On Saturday, Villanova/Georgetown scored a 0.95 absent NFL competition — up 2% from Michigan State/Maryland in a later timeslot last year (0.93) but down 41% from N.C. State/Duke in a similar window in ’14 (1.62). (via ShowBuzz Daily)
Premier League Low on NBC
- NBC scored a 0.7 overnight for the Aston Villa/Leicester City English Premier League match on Sunday, tied with five other matches as the second-lowest of the season. The 0.7 also tied last year’s comparable Newcastle/Southampton match. (via ShowBuzz Daily)
