The Capitals and Penguins delivered big gains for NBCSN Thursday. In other news, TNT posted a modest increase for NBA preseason action, and FOX had a decline for its Formula E race.
Big Bump For Caps/Pens on NBCSN
- Thursday’s Capitals/Penguins NHL regular season game had 500,000 viewers on NBCSN, up 87% from Wild/Avalanche last year (268K) and up 74% from Avalanche/Wild in 2014 (287K). The game, which had a 0.3 final rating, earned the largest audience on the second night of the season since Sabres/Red Wings in 2013 (583K). (via Programming Insider 10/14)
NBA Preseason Low on TNT
- TNT scored 331,000 viewers for Thursday’s Blazers/Clippers NBA preseason game, up 9% from Rockets/Warriors last year (303K). Earlier in the night, Raptors/Cavaliers had a 0.3 and 419,000 viewers; there was no comparable window last year. Neither game came close to the previous week’s preseason doubleheader on ESPN, which pulled 770,000 for Knicks/Rockets and 1.2 million for Clippers/Warriors on October 4. (via ShowBuzz Daily 10/14)
Formula E Lower on FOX
- An encore presentation of last week’s Formula E opener from Hong Kong had a 0.7 final rating and 1.2 million viewers on FOX last Sunday, down 20% in ratings and 24% in viewership from the network’s lone race last year, from Malaysia (1.0, 1.6M). Coverage aired either before or after the NFL depending on the market. Despite the drop, the race earned a larger audience than all-but-one Formula 1 race this year — trailing only the Monaco Grand Prix on NBC in May (0.9, 1.3M). Live coverage on Fox Sports 1 had 50,000 in the overnight hours. (Fox Sports, Sports TV Ratings 10/11)
