A Roger Federer victory could not save viewership for last weekend’s Indian Wells tennis finals. In other news, ESPN pulled low numbers for a pair of NBA doubleheaders, and NHL coverage was mixed on NBCSN.
Despite Federer Win, Indian Wells Finals Hit Low
- The singles finals at the Indian Wells tennis tournament — Roger Federer–Stan Wawrinka and Elena Vesnina–Svetlana Kuznetsova — scored 414,000 viewers on ESPN last Sunday, down 31% in viewership from last year, when Serena Williams reached the championship round (600K), and down 22% from 2015 (526K). The telecast had a 0.3 final rating, down a tick from both years. It was the smallest audience for the event since at least 2010.
Spurs-T’Wolves Tops Weak NBA Slate on ESPN
- Spurs-T’Wolves had a 0.8 final rating and 1.2 million viewers on the NBA on ESPN Tuesday night, up a tick in ratings and 31% in viewership from Grizzlies-Lakers last year (0.7, 946K) but down a tick and 9% respectively from Warriors-Blazers in 2015 (0.9, 1.4M), both of which aired on TNT. Bulls-Raptors drew a 0.7 (-13%) and 1.1 million (-9%) earlier in the night. On Wednesday, Hawks-Wizards had a 0.7 (-28%) and 1.0 million (-28%) while Knicks-Jazz pulled a 0.6 (-63%) and 903,000 (-65%).
Mixed Numbers For NHL on NBCSN Last Week
- Islanders-Rangers scored 429,000 viewers on the latest edition of NHL Wednesday Night Rivalry on NBCSN, down 41% from Flyers-Blackhawks last year (730K) and down 45% from Blackhawks-Rangers in 2015 (787K). The previous night, Sharks-Wild had 356,000 — up 139% from Red Wings-Flyers last year (149K) but down 9% from Sabres-Bruins in ’15 (391K). Finally, Sabres-Red Wings had 195,000 on Monday (-48%).
(Numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 3.21a, 3.21b, Programming Insider 3.23, 3.22)
