Recent sports TV ratings news, including the much-hyped Naomi Osaka-Serena Williams match at the Australian Open, Kevin Durant’s return to the Bay Area, a four-year high for the PGA Tour and more.
Osaka-Serena big draw for ESPN2
Wednesday’s Naomi Osaka-Serena Williams Australian Open women’s semifinal averaged 1.41 million viewers on ESPN2, peaking at 1.63 million for the final 15 minutes from 11:15-11:30 PM ET. The full telecast, which ran until after 2 AM ET, averaged 806,000 — the most-watched Australian Open window of any kind since the 2017 Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer men’s final (1.09M). It was the most-watched semifinal telecast since that same 2017 tournament, when Williams and her sister Venus both won to advance to the final (1.01M).
Durant’s return to Bay well below his return to OKC
Last Saturday’s Nets-Warriors game, which marked Nets F Kevin Durant’s return to the Bay Area, averaged a 1.5 rating and 2.56 million viewers on ABC — marking the eighth-largest audience of the season (fourth-largest excluding Christmas). There was no comparable window last year, which coincided with All-Star weekend.
Ratings and viewership paled in comparison to Durant’s previous homecoming — his 2017 return to Oklahoma City as a member of the Warriors averaged a 3.4 and 6.04 million in the same Saturday Primetime window.
In other action, ESPN averaged a 0.8 and 1.27 million for Lakers-Nuggets and a 0.7 and 1.15 million for Blazers-Mavericks Sunday night. It also pulled a 0.8 and 1.26 million for Grizzlies-Lakers and a 0.6 and 1.04 million for Pelicans-Mavericks on Friday.
Shifting to this week’s games, TNT drew just 984,000 for Nets-Suns and 943,000 for Pelicans-Grizzlies on Tuesday. Wednesday’s ESPN numbers were not immediately available.
PGA Tour scores four-year high at Pebble Beach
Final round coverage of the PGA Tour at Pebble Beach averaged a 2.55 rating and 4.19 million viewers on CBS last Sunday, marking the tournament’s highest rating and viewership in four years (2017: 2.7, 4.23M). Ratings increased 12% and viewership 20% from last year (2.3, 3.51M), marking the second-straight final round window to increase double-digits.
Third round coverage last Saturday dipped a tick in ratings (to 1.5) and 1% in viewership (to 2.37M). Lead-in windows on Golf Channel averaged a 0.54 (+15%) and 846,000 (+14%) on Saturday and a 0.9 (+13%) and 1.45 million (+27%) on Sunday.
Plus: CBB, NHL, UFC, NASCAR
CBS averaged a 1.2 rating and 1.87 million viewers for last Sunday’s Michigan-Wisconsin college basketball game, up 27% in ratings and 34% in viewership from last year (Indiana-Michigan: 0.9, 1.40M), and the fourth-best audience of the season. … Last Sunday’s Capitals-Penguins NHL game drew a 0.7 and 1.33 million on NBC, flat and up 29% respectively from last year (Bruins-Rangers: 0.7, 1.03M). The same teams pulled 200,000 viewers on NBCSN Tuesday (-14%). In other action, NBCSN scored 569,000 (+36%) for Bruins-Rangers back on February 10 and 291,000 for Islanders-Sabres on Monday. … UFC 258 prelims averaged a 0.43 and 794,000 on ESPN last Saturday, well below the previous PPV prelims (leading into a Conor McGregor fight) in January (0.8, 1.43M). … The NASCAR Xfinity Series opener at Daytona declined 16% in ratings (to 0.9) and 11% in viewership (to 1.61M) on FS1 last Saturday, while the previous night’s Truck Series opener there increased 7% in both measures (to 0.63, 1.07M).
[Nielsen estimates from ESPNFlora/Twitter 2.18, ESPN, ShowBuzz Daily 2.17]
