Overnight ratings dipped for the first NHL game of the season. In other news, the WNBA Finals posted a second-straight viewership gain and the NWSL final earned its largest audience.
NHL Opening Night Overnights Mixed
- The Blues/Blackhawks NHL Opening Night game had a 0.7 overnight rating on NBCSN Wednesday night, down a tick from Rangers/Blackhawks last year and Flyers/Bruins in 2014 (0.8 for each). Out to the hundredth, the 0.74 is the fourth-highest ever for an NHL regular season game on NBCSN. Kings/Sharks had a 0.4 later in the night, up a tick from last year (0.3) and even with 2014, which featured the same matchup. (NBC Sports/Twitter 10/13a, 10/13b)
WNBA Finals Sees Game 2 Bump
- Game 2 of the Sparks/Lynx WNBA Finals had 446,000 viewers on ESPN2 Tuesday night, up 14% from Fever/Lynx last year (410K) but down 39% from Sky/Mercury on ESPN in 2014 (763K). The double-digit increase comes on the heels of a 5% bump for Sunday’s Game 1 on ABC. (via ShowBuzz Daily 10/13)
NWSL Final Hits High on FS1
- The Washington/Western N.Y. NWSL final had 180,000 viewers on Fox Sports 1 Sunday afternoon, up 8% from last year (167K) and up 15% from 2014 on ESPN2 (156K), both of which pitted Kansas City against Seattle. It was the most-watched NWSL final in the event’s four-year history. (via Sports TV Ratings 10/11)
