Recent sports TV ratings, including midweek NBA and NHL games, college basketball and the latest 30 For 30 premiere.
Tuesday doubleheader leads midweek NBA
Tuesday’s Clippers-Nets NBA regular season game averaged 1.66 million viewers on TNT, up 32% from the comparable February date last year (Bucks-Pelicans: 1.25M) and up 112% from 2019 (Raptors-Sixers: 782K). The Celtics-Warriors nightcap was actually higher at 1.73 million, up 23% from last year (Spurs-Lakers: 1.40M) and up 129% from ’19 (Heat-Blazers: 755K).
The momentum did not carry into the rest of the week. On Wednesday night, ESPN averaged 984,000 for Suns-Pelicans (-16%) and just 701,000 for Pacers-Bucks (-30%). TNT averaged 1.39 million for Warriors-Mavericks (-18%) and 1.37 million for Nuggets-Lakers (-39%) on Thursday.
B’s-Flyers scores for NBCSN
NBCSN averaged 633,000 viewers for Wednesday’s Bruins-Flyers NHL regular season game, up 36% from Bruins-Blackhawks last year (467K), up 48% from Bruins-Rangers in 2019 (428K) and the network’s largest regular season audience — outside of Opening Night — in more than a year (10/16/19 Avalanche-Penguins: 636K). Earlier in the night, Red Wings-Lightning averaged just 179,000.
In other action, Penguins-Rangers averaged 296,000 on Monday night (+27%) and Wild-Avalanche 286,000 on Tuesday (+1%).
Big gains for Buckeyes games
Last Sunday’s Michigan State-Ohio State college basketball game averaged a 0.9 rating and 1.45 million viewers on CBS, up 50% in ratings and 60% in viewership from the same window last year (Georgetown-St. John’s: 0.6, 909K) and the top game of the past week.
Shifting to the workweek, Thursday’s top-ten matchup of Ohio State and Iowa averaged 1.09 million on ESPN — up 116% from Cincinnati-Wichita State last year (506K). In another top-ten game, Baylor-Texas averaged 704,000 on ESPN Tuesday night (-11%), followed by Illinois-Indiana at 713,000 (-21%). ESPN also pulled 718,000 for Duke-Miami and 722,000 for Oklahoma-Texas Tech on Monday, both down 19%.
Plus: Al Davis 30 For 30, Winter X Games, Motorsports
The debut of the ESPN 30 For 30 documentary “Al Davis vs. the NFL” averaged 673,000 viewers Thursday night, down 28% from last year’s first 30 For 30 (“Vick” part one: 941K). … Last weekend’s Winter X Games topped out at a 0.6 rating and 904,000 viewers for ABC’s Sunday afternoon coverage, the event’s most-watched window in two years. … The 24 Hours at Daytona auto race averaged 391,000 viewers across NBC and NBCSN (+19%). NBC’s Sunday window, which as previously reported averaged 1.23 million viewers, was the most-watched telecast at the event since 2008. It was followed by NBC’s most-watched Supercross race ever (877K).
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 2.2, 2.3 a, b, 2.4, 2.5; NBC Sports PR 2.3]
