Friday’s NBA playoff action delivered mixed results on ESPN. In other news, PGA Tour overnights hit a low at Quail Hollow, and the Kentucky Oaks neared a high mark.
Friday NBA Mixed on ESPN
- Friday’s Spurs-Rockets NBA Playoffs Game 3 earned a 3.0 final rating and 4.9 million viewers on ESPN, down a tick in ratings and 2% in viewership from Spurs-Thunder last year (3.1, 5.0M) and down 9% and 2% respectively from Rockets-Clippers in 2015 (3.3, 5.0M). Despite the drop, it was still the day’s top program in adults 18-49 (1.9), adults 18-34 (1.85) and even adults 25-54 (2.0). Earlier in the night, Cavaliers-Raptors Game 5 had a 2.3 and 3.6 million — up 15% in ratings and 14% in viewership from Cavs-Hawks last year (2.0, 3.2M) but down 34% and 35% respectively from Cavs-Bulls in ’15 (3.5, 5.6M).
PGA Quail Hollow Overnights Hit Low
- Final round coverage of the PGA Tour at Quail Hollow (Charlotte) earned a 1.6 overnight rating on CBS Sunday afternoon, down 24% from last year (2.1) and down a third from 2015 (2.2). The 1.6 is the lowest ever for final round coverage of the 14-year-old tournament, falling below the previous mark of 1.8 in 2008. Saturday’s third round action had a 1.0 (-23%).
Kentucky Oaks Nears High
- The Kentucky Oaks earned 272,000 viewers on NBCSN Friday afternoon, up 55% from last year (172K) but down 1 from 2015 (275K). Not counting 2012, figures for which were unavailable, it was the second-largest audience for the pre-Derby event since it moved from Bravo to Versus/NBCSN in 2011.
(Numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 5.8, Programming Insider 5.8, Sports Business Daily 5.8)
