Overnight ratings hit a 16-year high for the NBA Draft Lottery. Also: IndyCar’s Grand Prix of Indianapolis hit a five-year high; and the Byron Nelson Championship posted a slight bump.
Draft Lottery overnights hit high; WCF opener mixed
Tuesday’s NBA Draft Lottery earned a 3.9 overnight rating on ESPN, up 77% from last year’s one-hour telecast (2.2) and the highest for the event since 2003 on ABC (5.1). The previous high was a 3.2 in 2015. Cleveland led all markets with a 7.6 rating, followed by Norfolk, Va., (7.5), New York City (6.7), Hartford (5.8) and Washington D.C. (5.6).
Later in the night, Blazers-Warriors scored a 5.8 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals — down 13% from Warriors-Rockets on TNT last year (6.7), but up 4% from Spurs-Warriors on ABC in 2017, which aired on a Sunday afternoon (5.6). Compared to last year’s conference final Game 1 on ESPN/ABC, overnights increased 7% from a 5.4 for Cavaliers-Celtics, which also aired on a Sunday afternoon.
The 5.8 is tied as the highest for a conference final opener on ESPN/ABC since 2012 (Celtics-Heat: 6.6).
Versus the same post-Draft Lottery window last year, overnights fell 11% from Cavaliers-Celtics Game 2 (6.5). The Bay Area led all markets for the game (21.9), followed by Portland (20.5) and Sacramento (10.2). Norfolk and Charlotte rounded out the top five (7.4).
IndyCar GP of Indianapolis hits high
Sunday’s IndyCar Grand Prix of Indianapolis earned a 0.7 final rating and 1.07 million viewers on NBC, up a tick in ratings and 37% in viewership from last year (0.6, 780K) and flat and up 10% respectively from 2017 (0.7, 969K). The race aired on ABC prior to this year.
The TV audience, which peaked at 1.41 million, was the largest for the event since the inaugural edition in 2014 (1.24M). Streaming had a negligible effect, boosting the audience from 1.066 to 1.072 million. Indianapolis led all markets with a 6.65, followed by Ft. Myers, Fla. (1.9) and Louisville, Dayton, San Diego and St. Louis (1.6 each).
Earlier in the day, the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix had a 0.40 rating (+25%) and 645,000 viewers (+27%) on ESPN2, the largest audience on record for the race. F1 races are averaging 564,000 viewers on ESPN and ESPN2 this season, up 28% from last year (442K) and up 44% from 2017 on NBC Sports (393K).
Byron Nelson final round up from last year’s rain-addled low
Sunday’s final round of the PGA Tour Byron Nelson Championship scored a 1.6 rating and 2.42 million viewers on CBS, up a tick in ratings and 6% in viewership from last year, when rain pushed the finish to Golf Channel (1.5, 2.27M), but down 20% and 18% respectively from 2017 (2.0, 2.94M). Despite the bump, viewership topped only last year as the lowest since 2014 (2.19M).
Third round coverage the previous day had a 1.0 (-18%) and 1.47 million (-18%). Lead-in coverage on Golf Channel had a 0.49 and 746,000 on Sunday (last year’s comparable coverage was rained out).
[Numbers from ESPN PR 5.15 a, b; Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 5.15]
