Week two of the Premier League season brought across the board increases, though last year’s numbers were depressed by the Olympics.
Last Sunday’s Tottenham-Chelsea Premier League match had a 0.4 rating and 629,000 viewers on NBCSN, up 135% in ratings and 148% in viewership from West Ham-Bournemouth on CNBC last year (0.17, 254K) but down a tick and 23% respectively from Manchester City-Chelsea in 2015 (0.5, 818K).
Chelsea’s win delivered the biggest increase of a week marked by double-digit gains, with the caveat that last year’s matches faced the Olympics.
The previous day, Stoke City-Arsenal had a 0.5 rating and 778,000 on the NBC broadcast network, up 150% in ratings and 96% in viewership from Leicester City-Arsenal on CNBC last year (0.2, 397K).
Also on the rise were Swansea-Manchester United on Saturday morning, with a 0.27 (+50%) and 406,000 (+57%), and Sunday’s Huddersfield-Newcastle match (289K, +43%).
Saturday’s Liverpool-Crystal Palace match technically scored a big increase, with its 0.31 and 498,000 up 24% in ratings and 20% in viewership, but last year’s comparable Burnley-Liverpool match was cannibalized by competing coverage on CNBC.
The lone downer of the weekend was Manchester City-Everton on Monday. Its 296,000 viewers declined 23% from Liverpool-Bournemouth in 2015 (384K). There was no comparable Monday match last year.
Of the ten EPL telecasts that can be compared to last year, eight have posted increases in ratings and/or viewership.
[Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 8.22, Nielsen]
