A jam-packed schedule of Premier League matches did not score particularly impressive numbers on NBCSN.
Last Sunday’s Arsenal/Crystal Palace English Premier League match had 514,000 viewers on NBCSN, down 47% from Chelsea/Arsenal last year (979K) but up 4% from Swansea City/Chelsea in 2014 (494K). It was the top EPL match of the week on cable.
Earlier in the morning, Leicester City/West Ham had 439,000 — down 34% from Manchester United/Everton last year (664K) and down 41% from Liverpool/Manchester City in 2014 (740K).
The steep Sunday declines followed mixed numbers on Saturday. NBCSN scored 428,000 for Manchester United/Aston Villa in the late morning window, up 42% from Leicester City/Burnley last year (301K) and up 24% from Fulham/Norwich in 2014 (344K). Including Everton/Southampton on USA Network (193K), the window’s 621,000 viewers was up 106% year-over-year.
Norwich City/Sunderland, on the other hand, drew 249,000 in the early morning window — off 20% from last year’s Tottenham/Southampton match (310K).
Bookending the week 34 slate, Crystal Palace/Everton had just 53,000 on April 13 while Stoke City/Tottenham scored 226,000 on Monday. In both cases, there was no comparable match last year.
Week 35 of the season consisted of weekday matches, with Newcastle/Manchester City scoring 200,000 on Tuesday, Liverpool/Everton 264,000 on Wednesday, and Arsenal/West Brom 178,000 on Thursday. Last year’s week 35 slate consisted of the customary weekend windows.
Ratings and viewership were not immediately available for NBC’s Chelsea/Manchester City match last weekend.
(Wknd. numbers via Awful Announcing, Sports TV Ratings [1], [2], [3], [4], [5])
