ESPN generated two of its five largest college hoops audiences this season on Saturday. In other news, NBCSN scored its top NHL audience since Opening Night, and the Sabres are leading the NHL’s local ratings race.
Kansas/Oklahoma Rematch Big, But UVA/Duke Bigger
- Saturday’s Kansas/Oklahoma college basketball game, a rematch of the teams’ triple-overtime thriller in January, scored 2.2 million viewers on ESPN — up 21% from South Carolina/Kentucky last year (1.8M), up 208% from VCU/Saint Louis in 2014 (711K), and the fifth-largest audience of the season on cable. It was not the top game of the day, however, trailing Virginia/Duke immediately afterward (2.196M to 2.188M). That game, which Duke won at the buzzer, increased a third over North Carolina/Louisville last year (1.7M) and 137% from Indiana/Purdue in ’14 (928K). (via ShowBuzz Daily)
NBCSN Scores Top NHL Audience Since Opening Night
- NBCSN scored a 0.4 final rating and 738,000 viewers for Sunday’s Flyers/Rangers NHL regular season game, up 100% in ratings and 155% in viewership from Flyers/Sabres last year (0.2, 289K) and the network’s most-watched telecast since Rangers/Blackhawks on Opening Night (925K). Keep in mind that does not include the All-Star Game. (via Programming Insider, Twitter)
Sabres Have NHL’s Highest Rating, Biggest Increase
- So far this season, the Buffalo Sabres have the highest local rating in the NHL (6.81) and the league’s largest year-over-year increase (+55%), according to Sports Business Journal. Ranking second in those respective categories are the Penguins (5.51) and Ducks (+41%). On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Panthers are averaging a league-low 0.20 rating, and the Blues have incurred a league-high 25% decline. (Sports Business Journal)
