One of the marquee matchups on the Premier League schedule scored big increases on NBCSN last weekend.
The latest edition of the Manchester Derby earned a 0.4 final rating and 623,000 viewers on NBCSN last Saturday morning, up a tick in ratings and 53% in viewership from Newcastle/Arsenal last year (0.3, 406K) and up a tick and 41%, respectively, from Manchester City/Arsenal in 2014 (0.3, 442K).
Manchester City’s win was the most-watched early morning Premier League telecast (start time prior to 9 AM ET) since last year’s season opener between Tottenham and Manchester United (626K). It also delivered the third-largest audience of the season regardless of network or timeslot, behind Manchester United/Hull City on NBC in week three (1.2M) and Arsenal/Liverpool on NBCSN in week one (745K).
Airing immediately afterward, Southampton/Arsenal scored a 0.3 (+24%) and 480,000 (+28%). Figures for the concurrent Stoke City/Tottenham match on CNBC were not immediately available.
In other action, Liverpool/Leicester City had a 0.3 and 502,000 on NBCSN Saturday afternoon — down 50% in ratings and 41% in viewership from Tottenham/Everton last year (0.6, 850K) and down 40% and 37%, respectively, from Liverpool/Aston Villa in 2014 (0.5, 791K). Keep in mind those matches aired on the NBC broadcast network.
Rounding out the weekend’s action, Swansea City/Chelsea had a 0.2 (-49%) and 406,000 (-46%) on Sunday morning. On Monday, Sunderland/Everton had 129,000 — even with West Ham/Hull City in 2014. There was no comparable window last year.
