The Premier League neared a U.S. viewership high last weekend. Also: a bump for the Blackhawks on NBC; a multi-year high for the PGA Tour; and a drop for a college football all-star game.
Chelsea-Arsenal Nears U.S. EPL High
Last Saturday’s Chelsea-Arsenal English Premier League match had a 0.8 rating and 1.29 million viewers on NBC, marking the highest rated and most-watched match of the season. The previous highs were a 0.75 and 1.11 million for Chelsea-Manchester City in December.
Including streaming, the match had 1.35 million — marking the fifth-largest audience on record for a live EPL match on U.S. television.
Slight Bump For Last-Place Blackhawks on NBC
Capitals-Blackhawks scored a 0.7 rating and 1.16 million viewers on the NHL on NBC last Sunday, flat in ratings and up 3% in viewership from last year (Flyers-Capitals: 0.7, 1.13M) but down a tick and 5% respectively from 2017 (Rangers-Red wings: 0.8, 1.22M).
Shifting to the workweek, NBCSN scored 292,000 viewers for Capitals-Maple Leafs (-28%) and 220,000 for Predators-Golden Knights on Wednesday night. Red Wings-Oilers had 214,000 on Tuesday (-4%). On Martin Luther King Day, a Blues-Kings afternoon game scored 133,000.
PGA Tour Desert Classic Hits High
Last Sunday’s final round of the PGA Tour Desert Classic, which saw Phil Mickelson finish in a tie for second, pulled a 0.37 rating and 574,000 viewers on Golf Channel — up 54% in ratings and 56% in viewership from last year (0.24, 368K) and up 48% and 54% respectively from 2017 (0.25, 372K).
Third round coverage was stronger at a 0.48 (+37%) and 728,000 (+43%), marking the largest audience for the tournament since the final round in 2015 (1.1M).
Decline For East-West Shrine Game
College football’s East-West Shrine Game pulled a 0.27 rating and 394,000 viewers on NFL Network last Saturday, down 16% in ratings and 17% in viewership from last year (0.32, 472K), but up 13% and 3% respectively from 2017 (0.24, 381K).
Figures for the day’s other all-star game, the Collegiate Bowl on FS1, were not available.
