Barcelona’s historic comeback in the UEFA Champions League delivered a big increase in viewership on FS1. In other action, the NHL suffered big declines on NBCSN last week and NFL free agency shows scored big increases on ESPN.
Big Jump For Barcelona’s Big Comeback
- Leg 2 of the Barcelona-Paris St. Germain UEFA Champions League Round of 16 series, which Barcelona won 6-1 to make up a four-goal aggregate deficit, had 384,000 viewers on Fox Sports 1 Wednesday afternoon — up 41% from Chelsea-Paris St. Germain last year (272K) but down 18% from Real Madrid/Schalke in 2015 (471K). It was the day’s most-watched program on FS1, which aired Big East Tournament basketball later in the night. The increase was a marked turnaround from the first leg on February 14, which sank 23% from last year’s Paris St. Germain-Chelsea match (from 338K to 261K).
Rough Week For NHL on NBCSN
- Red Wings-Bruins scored 388,000 viewers on the latest edition of NBCSN’s NHL Wednesday Night Rivalry, down 54% from Blackhawks-Red Wings last year (848K) and down 43% from Rangers-Red Wings in 2015 (675K). Ratings were not immediately avaliable. In other action, Flyers-Sabres had 215,000 on Tuesday night (-54%), Stars-Capitals 214,000 on Monday, and Blues-Avalanche 225,000 last Sunday (-38%).
Move From ESPN2 to ESPN Boosts NFL Free Agency Shows
- Aided by a lead-in from Duke-Louisville in the ACC Tournament, ESPN earned 1.0 million viewers for an NFL Insiders free agency special Thursday afternoon — up 256% from last year, when coverage aired on ESPN2 (288K). An hour-long NFL Live had 796,000 immediately afterward, up 194% from last year’s 271,000.
(Numbers via Sports TV Ratings 3.9, 2.22; ShowBuzz Daily 3.10, 3.8, 3.7a, 3.7b)
