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Home › Features › Year in Review › 2017 Ratings Wrap: Expect Anything Different? NFL Dominates Again › Page 2

2017 Ratings Wrap: Expect Anything Different? NFL Dominates Again

by Jon Lewis
8 years ago
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5
PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 17: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) gives a thumbs up after  winning a week 15 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots on December 17, 2017 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire)

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 17: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) gives a thumbs up after winning a week 15 game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots on December 17, 2017 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire)

This page includes the most-watched sporting events of 2017 by sport and by television network. For the full list of the top 50 events, click here. For a list of the top 50 excluding the NFL and the Olympics, click here.

Top Sports Audiences of 2017 By Sport
TV+streaming viewership in parentheses

SportsMediaWatch.com
Sport Game Rtg. Vwrs. Net
NFL Patriots-Falcons
Super Bowl 51
45.3 111.32M
(113.04M)
FOX
MLB Astros-Dodgers
World Series Game 7
15.8 28.29M
(28.58M)
FOX
CFB Clemson-Alabama
National Championship
14.2 25.27M
(26.03M)
ESPN
NBA Cavaliers-Warriors
NBA Finals Game 5
13.5 24.53M
(25.07M)
ABC
CBB UNC-Gonzaga
National Championship
13.2 23.00M CBS
Horse Kentucky Derby
Race segment
9.3 16.45M
(16.54M)
NBC
NASCAR Daytona 500
Cup Series
6.6 11.92M
(11.96M)
FOX
PGA The Masters
Final Round
6.8 11.05M CBS
NHL Penguins-Predators
Stanley Cup Final Game 6
3.9 6.99M
(7.09M)
NBC
Soccer U.S.-Mexico
FIFA World Cup Qualifier
n.a. 6.80M UNI &
FS1
IndyCar Indianapolis 500 3.4 5.46M ABC
WCBB So. Carolina-Miss. St.
National Championship
2.3 3.83M
(3.89M)
ESPN
Boxing Thurman-Garcia
Premier Boxing Champs.
1.9 3.06M CBS
Figure Skating U.S. Fig. Skt. Champ.
Women’s Free Skate
1.8 2.81M NBC
Tennis (M) Federer-Cilic
Wimbledon final
1.5 2.32M ESPN
MMA UFC on FOX 23 1.3 2.19M FOX
Tennis (W) Muguruza-Venus W.
Wimbledon final
1.4 2.04M ESPN
NHRA New Jersey 1.0 1.62M FS1
F1 Monaco GP 1.0 1.44M NBC
LPGA Women’s British Open
Final Round
0.8 1.10M NBC
WNBA Sparks-Lynx
WNBA Finals Game 5
0.6 (902K) ESPN

Top Sports Audiences of 2017 By Network
TV+streaming viewership in parentheses

SportsMediaWatch.com
Net Game Rtg. Vwrs.
FOX Patriots-Falcons
Super Bowl 51
45.3 111.32M
(113.04M)
CBS Steelers-Patriots
AFC Championship
24.4 47.95M
NBC Steelers-Chiefs
AFC Divisional
19.8 37.11M
(37.37M)
ESPN Clemson-Alabama
Nat’l Championship
14.2 25.27M
(26.03M)
ABC Cavaliers-Warriors
NBA Finals Game 5
13.5 24.53M
(25.07M)
FS1 Yankees-Astros
ALCS Game 7
5.4 9.92M
(10.08M)
Turner Sports Oregon-Kansas
NCAA Elite Eight
5.4 9.31M
NFL Network Texans-Bengals
Week 2 TNF
4.9 8.08M
NBCSN Pocono (July 30)
NASCAR Cup Series
2.2 3.67M
MLB Network Yankees-Indians
ALDS Game 2
1.9 3.20M
Golf Channel Pebble Beach
Final Round (90 min)
0.75 1.17M
NBA TV Warriors-Rockets
Reg. season (2016-17)
0.49 748K

Page 2 of 2
Prev12
Tags: List of Most-Watched Sporting Events
Previous Post

NFL Overnights: Season’s Frantic Finish Mixed on FOX, CBS

Next Post

NFL Week 17: Long, Bad Season Ends on Semi-Decent Note

Jon Lewis

Jon Lewis has been covering the sports media industry on a daily basis since 2006 as the founder and main writer of Sports Media Watch. You can contact him here or on the social media websites X (Twitter) or Bluesky.

Related

Full charts below.

2023 ratings wrap: NFL sweeps top 50

by Jon Lewis
2 years ago
12

The NFL's dominance of the sports industry reached a new level in 2023.

PASADENA, CA - JANUARY 02: General view of the exterior of the Rose Bowl Stadium before the Rose Bowl game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Utah Utes on January 2, 2023 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire)

Halftime: 50 most-watched sporting events of 2023 (so far)

by Jon Lewis
3 years ago
4

The annual halftime list of the most-watched sporting events so far.

INGLEWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 13: Los Angeles Rams Quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) throws a pass to Los Angeles Rams Running Back Cam Akers (23) in the first half during Super Bowl LVI between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams on February 13, 2022, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire)

2022 ratings wrap: Another dominant year for NFL

by Jon Lewis
3 years ago
5

As should surprise nobody, the NFL yet again dominated the list of most-watched sporting events in 2022.

Indianapolis, IN - January 8, 2022 - Lucas Oil Stadium:  2022 CFP National Championship.
(Photo by Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images)

Halftime: 50 most-watched sporting events of 2022 (so far)

by Jon Lewis
4 years ago
8

The NFL dominates more than usual.

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Sports Ratings Tracker
logoTalladega
Last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Talladega (Ala.) averaged a 2.1 rating and 3.97 million viewers on FOX, down a tick in ratings and 2% in viewership from last year (2.2, 4.04M). Excluding 2020, when the race was delayed several weeks and then postponed due to rain, Carson Hocevar’s win was the least-watched spring Talladega race since it began airing on FOX in 2001. Read more
logoNBA Playoffs on NBC
Monday’s Pistons-Magic first round NBA playoff Game 4 averaged a combined 5.4 million viewers on NBC across Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, up 155% from a Nielsen-only audience of 2.1 million for a non-exclusive Cavaliers-Heat Game 4 on TNT Sports last year. Read more
logoStanley Cup Update
Coverage of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs was averaging 1.15 million viewers through the first five days, up 76% from last year and the highest average on record at that point of the postseason. This year’s average is up 30% from the previous high of 887,000 in 2012, and up 39% from the previous high during the current media rights deal — 832,000 in 2024.
logoWomen’s National Championship
Last Sunday’s Wisconsin-Ohio State NCAA women’s hockey national title game averaged 39,000 viewers on ESPNU, down 9% from the same matchup last year (43K).
logoNCAA Women’s Tournament
The NCAA women’s basketball tournament was averaging 628,000 viewers through the first two rounds, up 4% from last year (602K) and behind the Caitlin Clark-fueled levels of 2024 as the highest average since 2009. Note that the 4% increase is well within the margin that can be explained entirely by Nielsen’s shift to “Big Data + Panel” methodology. Read more
logoDarlington
Last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Darlington (S.C.) averaged a 1.3 rating and 2.43 million viewers on FS1, up a tick in ratings but down 1% in viewership from Homestead-Miami on the same weekend last year (1.2, 2.46M). Read more
logoParalympics
The NBC family of networks averaged 1.1 million viewers for the recently-concluded Milan-Cortina Winter Paralympics, per a combination of Nielsen and Adobe Analytics — up 24% from the previous edition in Beijing four years ago. That is outside the range that would be explained by Nielsen methodological changes. Read more

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