Ratings: NBA, MLB, UCL and more

Last Sunday’s Spurs-Pelicans NBA regular season game averaged a 0.8 rating and 1.16 million viewers on ABC, marking the lowest NBA rating ever on broadcast TV. The previous low was a 0.9 for a 2017 Thunder-Rockets game opposite the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. The record-low comes with a caveat; all ABC games since the NBA restart have co-existed with local RSN broadcasts. Prior to this year, ABC had not aired a non-exclusive game since 2008.

Compared to Blazers-Celtics in a similar window the previous week, ratings fell 27% (from 1.1) and viewership 30% (from 1.66M).

In other action, TNT averaged 1.53 million viewers for Nuggets-Lakers on Monday night and a 0.9 and 1.37 million for Lakers-Pacers on Saturday. The Lakers have played in six of the 12 most-watched games since the season restarted, more than any other team.

Rounding out the recent slate, Jazz-Nuggets averaged a 0.7 and 1.09 million and Clippers-Blazers a 0.6 and 811,000 on TNT Saturday afternoon; Celtics-Raptors drew a 0.7 and 1.01 million and Magic-Sixers a 0.43 and 623,000 on TNT Friday night; ESPN drew a 0.8 and 1.27 million for Bucks-Mavericks Saturday night and 781,000 viewers for Bucks-Raptors on Monday evening.

Indians-White Sox averaged a 0.51 rating and 802,000 viewers on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball over the weekend, down 34% in ratings and 35% in viewership from the third Sunday night game last season (4/13/19 Mets-Braves: 0.8, 1.23M) and down 40% and 39% respectively from the same August weekend last year (8/11/19 Phillies-Giants: 0.85, 1.31M).

Figures do not include rain delay coverage (0.43, 664K) or the brief, 2-minute resumption of play that followed (0.45, 658K).

Earlier in the day, TBS averaged a 0.15 and 232,000 for Braves-Phillies — down 44% in both measures from its third window last season (7/21/19 Rockies-Yankees: 0.27, 416K) and down 48% and 44% respectively from the same weekend last year (8/11/19 Angels-Red Sox: 0.29, 417K).

Finally, ESPN averaged 445,000 for Giants-Astros on Monday, trailing all of its Monday Night Baseball telecasts last season.

Saturday’s FC Barcelona-Napoli UEFA Champions League round of 16 match averaged 1.1 million viewers on Univision and TUDN, the largest audience on record for the round of 16 on U.S. television. Meanwhile, Manchester City-Real Madrid averaged 571,000 on UniMas and TUDN Friday, ranking sixth all-time for the round.

English-language coverage aired on CBS Sports Network, which is not Nielsen-rated.

Racing roundup: NHRA eliminations from Indianapolis averaged a 0.53 rating and 815,000 viewers on FOX Sunday, down 10% in ratings and viewership from the previous event on July 19 (0.59, 906K). The F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix drew 646,000 viewers on ESPN earlier in the day, off 12% from the previous week’s British Grand Prix at the same track (736K). On Saturday, the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Road America had a 0.51 (-12%) and 779,000 (-13%) on NBCSN and Formula E a mere 0.22 and 299,000 on FOX.

… and the rest: Horse racing’s Travers Stakes averaged a 0.43 and 605,000 on FOX Saturday, down 10% and 9% respectively from its FOX debut last year (0.48, 666K). … The WNBA scored a 0.28 and 400,000 on ABC Saturday (Mercury-Storm) and a 0.22 and 310,000 on ESPN Sunday (Lynx-Sparks), the fourth and fifth-largest audiences of the young season. Sunday’s game had a PGA Championship lead-in. … ACL Cornhole drew its top audience of 2020 on ESPN Saturday (386K). It too had a PGA Championship lead-in. … The Premier Lacrosse League season averaged 153,000 viewers on NBC’s TV and digital platforms (+33%), including 340,000 for Sunday’s Chaos-Whipsnakes final (+23%).