Ratings: NBA on ESPN, NHL on NBCSN, EPL

ESPN opened its NBA season on a higher note, the NHL posted a modest bump for Wednesday Night Rivalry, and the Premier League delivered another increase on NBC.

Ratings Rise For ESPN NBA Season Debut

Timberwolves-Spurs had a 1.3 rating and 2.03 million viewers in the season debut of ESPN’s NBA Wednesday, flat in ratings and up 1% in viewership from Rockets-Lakers last year (1.3, 2.00M) but down 19% and 14% respectively from Timberwolves-Lakers in 2015 (1.6, 2.4M).

Earlier in the night, Sixers-Wizards had a 1.2 (+20%) and 1.8 million (+16%). Last year’s comparable games aired opposite the World Series, while this year’s games aired opposite the League Championship Series.

Wednesday NHL Ratings Up on NBCSN

Blackhawks-Blues earned 419,000 viewers on NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Rivalry last night, up 9% from Red Wings-Rangers last year (383K) but down 21% from Flyers-Bruins in 2015 (530K). Ratings increased 13% year-over-year (from 0.23 to 0.26). Later in the night, Canadiens-Kings had 170,000.

Outside of opening night, Wednesday Night Rivalry has delivered the two largest audiences of the young season, with the previous week’s Penguins-Capitals matchup holding the top spot (447K).

In other recent NHL action, Tuesday’s Lightning-Devils game had 200,000 (+18%). Figures for the Canadiens-Sharks nightcap were not available.

EPL Ratings Up Again on NBC

Last Saturday’s Watford-Arsenal English Premier League match had a 0.45 rating and 668,000 viewers on the NBC broadcast network, up 2% in ratings and 11% in viewership from Crystal Palace-West Ham last year (0.44, 604K) but down 25% and 30% respectively from Chelsea-Southampton in 2015 (0.60, 948K).

All seven EPL windows on NBC have posted an increase in ratings and/or viewership, but that comes with a big caveat — four of the seven comparable windows last year aired on cable.

Earlier Saturday, NBCSN scored a 0.26 (+8%) and 393,000 (+9%) for Crystal Palace-Chelsea and a 0.29 (+81%) and 391,000 (+53%) for Liverpool-Manchester United. Southampton-Newcastle had a 0.22 (+22%) and 329,000 (+17%) on Sunday. Figures for other cable matches were not available.

[Numbers via Programming Insider 10.19, ShowBuzz Daily 10.17]