The final meeting of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant did not move the needle much. In other news, NBCSN scored a solid gain for Blackhawks/Blues last week, and the Major League Soccer season got off to a slower start.
LeBron/Kobe Finale Down Double-Digits
- Thursday’s Cavaliers/Lakers NBA regular season game, the last meeting of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, earned a 1.1 final rating and 1.8 million viewers on TNT — down 27% in ratings and 17% in viewership from Cavaliers/Spurs last year (1.5, 2.1M) but flat and up 12%, respectively, from Lakers/Thunder in 2014 (1.1, 1.6M). The early Bulls/Spurs game had 1.5 million, up 105% from Grizzlies/Wizards last year (725K) and up 22% from Rockets/Bulls in ’14 (1.2M). The previous night, Thunder/Clippers drew 1.5 million (+12%) and Grizzlies/Celtics 893,000 (-30%) on ESPN.
Blackhawks/Blues Good on NBCSN
- Blackhawks/Blues NHL action scored a 0.5 final rating and 739,000 viewers on NBCSN Wednesday, up a tick in ratings and 29% in viewership from Rangers/Capitals last year (0.4, 572K) and up 67% and 78%, respectively, from Capitals/Flyers in 2014 (0.3, 416K). In other action, Penguins/Islanders had 213,000 on Tuesday (-7%), Coyotes/Avalanche 165,000 on Monday (-38%) and Blues/Wild 369,000 last Sunday (-50%).
MLS Openers Down Last Weekend
- Last Sunday’s Fire/Crew Major League Soccer opener drew 362,000 viewers on ESPN, down a third from Orlando City/NYC F.C. last year on ESPN2 (539K). Later in the day, Sounders/Sporting K.C. had 267,000 on Fox Sports 1 — down a fraction of a percent from Red Bulls/Sporting K.C. in the same window last year (268K).
(Numbers via Programming Insider [1], [2], Sports TV Ratings [1], [2], [3])
