One ratings post for the road. The NBA, NHL and PGA Tour entered their respective hiatuses on a down note; the Premier League exited the stage with a U.S. TV record.
NBA suspension lifts SportsCenter, while games trend down
Airing in place of a postponed Pelicans-Kings game, breaking news coverage of the NBA’s decision to suspend its season averaged a 1.1 rating and 1.70 million viewers on ESPN’s SportsCenter Wednesday night.
Earlier in the night, Nuggets-Mavericks averaged a 0.75 and 1.15 million — down 20% in both measures from last year (Sixers-Bulls: 0.9, 1.43M) and down 10% and 6% respectively from 2018 (Raptors-Pistons: 0.8, 1.23M).
On Tuesday, TNT averaged a 0.59 (-55%) and 935,000 (-54%) for Clippers-Warriors and a 0.54 (-39%) and 840,000 (-39%) for Mavericks-Spurs. Thursday’s Inside the NBA special averaged a 0.25 and 367,000.
NHL enters hiatus with decline
NBCSN averaged a 0.30 rating and 549,000 viewers for last Sunday’s Blues-Blackhawks NHL regular season game, down 29% in ratings and 23% in viewership from last year (Bruins-Penguins: 0.42, 715K) but up 20% and 29% respectively from 2018 (Stars-Penguins: 0.25, 427K).
The Avalanche-Sharks nightcap averaged 265,000 viewers (+1%). Shifting to the workweek, NBCSN averaged 294,000 for Sharks-Blackhawks on Wednesday Night Hockey (-21%) and 212,000 for Bruins-Flyers on Tuesday.
Players Championship, Bay Hill, down double-digits
Thursday’s opening round of the PGA Tour Players Championship averaged 649,000 viewers on Golf Channel, down 28% from last year (907K) and 36% from 2018, when the tournament still took place in the month of May (1.01M). Tiger Woods was absent from the field this year, to say nothing of the larger news events taking precedence.
The PGA Tour elected to cancel the tournament late Thursday night.
Shifting to last weekend, coverage of the Arnold Palmer Invitational averaged a 1.25 rating (-12%) and 1.78 million viewers (-19%) on NBC last Saturday and a 1.7 (-17%) and 2.59 million (-16%) last Sunday. Both days hit a three-year low.
Plus: Manchester Derby, PBC vs. MMA, NASCAR Xfinity, Gymnastics
Last Sunday’s Premier League Manchester Derby averaged a 0.9 rating and 1.34 million viewers on NBC, the largest EPL audience on a single network since January 2015 (Chelsea-Manchester City: 1.35M). Across all platforms, it was the most-watched live EPL match ever on U.S. television with an average of 1.76 million. … Last Saturday’s Premier Boxing Champions Fight Night on FOX averaged a 0.9 rating (-13%) and 1.44 million viewers (-11%), edging the competing UFC 248 prelims on ESPN (0.7, 1.20M). … Last Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race from Phoenix averaged a 0.8 rating (+17%) and 1.19 million viewers (+12%) on FS1. … American Cup gymnastics averaged a 0.8 (flat) and 1.14 million (+2%) on NBC last Saturday, its largest audience since the last Olympic year in 2016 (1.18M).
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 3.10 a, b, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13; Programming Insider 3.13]
