ESPN scored the largest audience of the bowl season for the Russell Athletic Bowl. In other news, ESPN’s NBA Christmas Day slate was strong early and historically weak in primetime, and the Liga MX final hit a high on Univision.
Russell Athletic, Quick Lane, Bowls Up on ESPN
- Wednesday’s Miami/West Virginia Russell Athletic Bowl scored 4.3 million viewers on ESPN, up 1% from Baylor/North Carolina last year (4.2M) but down 13% from Clemson/Oklahoma in 2014 (4.9M). Ratings were not immediately available. Entering Thursday, it was the most-watched game of the bowl season on the ESPN family of networks. Also posting an increase this week was Monday’s Boston College/Maryland Quick Lane Bowl, which had 3.0 million — up 103% from Minnesota/Central Michigan on ESPN2 last year (1.5M), up 5% from Rutgers/UCF in 2014 (2.9M) and the second-most watched Detroit bowl game in the past seven years. They were the only bowls of the past 11 on ESPN to avoid a multi-year low.
C’s/Knicks Christmas Game Hits High on ESPN, Primetime Games Sacked
- The Celtics/Knicks NBA Christmas special had a 2.0 final rating and 3.7 million viewers on ESPN Sunday afternoon, up a tick in ratings and 16% in viewership from Pelicans/Heat last year (1.9, 3.2M), up 11% and 21% respectively from Wizards/Knicks in 2014 (1.8, 3.0M) and the top Noon ET game on the holiday since Celtics/Nets in 2012 (2.2, 3.7M). The primetime games were a different story. Facing NBC’s Sunday Night Football, T’Wolves/Thunder had a mere 0.8 (-60%) and 1.4 million (-64%), marking the lowest rated and least-watched Christmas Day NBA game on record. Clippers/Lakers was slightly better with 1.6 million viewers (-44%) but that was still the fifth-smallest Christmas audience on record.
Liga MX Final Hits High on Univision Christmas Night
- The second leg of the Liga MX Apertura final scored a 1.3 final rating and 3.1 million viewers on Univision and Univision Deportes Network Sunday night, flat in ratings but up 8% in viewership from last year (1.3, 2.8M) and down a tick but up 2%, respectively, from 2014 (1.4, 3.0M). In the fast-nationals, it was the most-watched match of an Apertura final since 2006.
(Numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 12/28, 12/29, Sports Business Daily 12/29, Univision)
