A five-hour NBA free agency special posted a big increase in viewership on ESPN2. Also: Gold Cup quarterfinal ratings went in opposite directions on Univision and FS1, and the PGA Tour’s new Detroit event neared season-lows on CBS.
Big jump for “The Jump” free agency special
A five-hour “The Jump” NBA free agency special averaged 838,000 viewers on ESPN2 Sunday, up 146% from a two-hour special last year (341K) and up 174% from a similar special in 2017 (306K). With the NBA moving the start of free agency from Midnight to 6 PM ET, this year’s special began at 5 PM, as opposed to 11:30 in prior years.
“The Jump” more-than-doubled Sunday’s MLB All-Star Game roster announcement, which aired on ESPN (350K).
The 10 PM ET SportsCenter had 987,000, up 106% from the first night of free agency last year, though having a Sunday Night Baseball lead-in likely had more to do with the increase than anything else.
Gold Cup quarters mostly down on Univison, up on FS1
Saturday’s Mexico-Costa Rica CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal earned a 1.5 rating and 2.99 million viewers on Univision and Univision Deportes Network, down a tick in ratings and 9% in viewership from Mexico-Honduras on a Thursday in 2017 (1.6, 3.29M) and down 29% and 36% respectively from Mexico-Costa Rica on a Sunday in 2015 (2.9, 4.66M).
Despite the declines, it was the most-watched men’s soccer telecast on any network this year. Coverage of the same match on FS1 was up double-digits to a 0.29 (+38%) and 523,000 (+54%).
On Sunday, United States-Curacao pulled a 0.85 and 1.55 million on FS1 — up 44% in ratings and 47% in viewership from U.S.-El Salvador in 2017 (0.6, 1.05M). Coverage on Univision/UDN had 1.6 million, about even with 2017 (1.62M).
Rounding out the weekend, Saturday’s Haiti-Canada match had a 0.6 (-33%) and 1.2 million (-27%) on Univision/UDN and 263,000 viewers on FS1 (-26%). Jamaica-Panama had a 0.24 and 395,000 on FS1 Sunday evening (+55%); figures for the Univision telecast were not available.
New PGA Tour Detroit event nears season-lows
Final round coverage of the new PGA Tour Detroit tournament earned a 1.3 rating and 1.85 million viewers on CBS, topping only the New Orleans Classic in April (1.0, 1.46M) as the least-watched final round on broadcast television this season.
Versus the tournament on the comparable weekend last year, the National from Washington D.C., ratings fell 43% (from 2.3) and viewership 48% (from 3.58M). That comes with a major caveat — Tiger Woods played last year’s event.
Third round action pulled a 1.0 and 1.39 million, again topping only New Orleans (0.8, 1.19M) as the least-watched round on broadcast TV this season. Lead-in coverage on Golf Channel had a 0.32 and 481,000 on Saturday and a 0.37 and 523,000 on Sunday.
[Numbers from Univision; Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 7.2, Programming Insider 7.2]
