ESPN scored baseball’s largest afternoon Opening Day audience in four years. Plus: Bucks-Lakers delivered the NBA’s largest audience since the All-Star break, even sans-LeBron James; mixed results for the PGA Tour/WGC Match Play; and more.
Big jump for ESPN’s Opening Day afternoon games
Thursday’s Blue Jays-Yankees Major League Baseball opener averaged 910,000 viewers on ESPN, up 29% from 2019 (Orioles-Yankees: 704K) and the most-watched afternoon game on Opening Day since 2017 — the last time the season opened on a Sunday. The game averaged an additional 543,000 viewers on YES Network in New York, the network’s second-best weekday afternoon audience ever, bringing the combined local and national audience to 1.45 million.
Abbreviated coverage of Dodgers-Rockies averaged 884,000 later in the day, up 64% from ’19 (Diamondbacks-Dodgers: 538K).
Last season opened in July with a primetime doubleheader. Yankees-Nationals drew 4.01 million viewers and Giants-Dodgers 2.78 million. Due to the postponement of Mets-Nationals, there was only one primetime game this year — Astros-A’s, which averaged just 655,000.
Bucks-Lakers top NBA game since All-Star break
Wednesday’s Bucks-Lakers NBA regular season game averaged 1.33 million viewers on ESPN, the league’s most-watched game since the All-Star break, despite the absence of Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Earlier in the night, Mavericks-Celtics drew 1.07 million. There were no comparable windows in 2019.
On Thursday, the Nets’ blowout of the Hornets averaged just 635,000 viewers on TNT — the least-watched game on ABC, ESPN or TNT this season. The game drew an additional 108,000 viewers on YES Network in New York. Nuggets-Clippers drew 889,000 later in the night. The games declined 60% and 47% respectively from the comparable 2019 doubleheader (Bucks-Sixers: 1.58M; Warriors-Lakers: 1.68M).
Mixed results for PGA Tour/WGC Match Play
Last Sunday’s final of the PGA Tour/WGC Match Play averaged a 1.6 rating and 2.69 million viewers on NBC, up 23% in ratings and 34% in viewership from 2019 (1.3, 2.02M) and the tournament’s best final-day audience since 2016 (3.22M). The previous day’s semifinals averaged a 1.0 and 1.52 million, down 55% and 52% respectively from coverage featuring Tiger Woods in ’19.
Eleven of the past 16 PGA Tour windows on broadcast television have increased over the most recent year.
Plus: NHL, skating, UFC, USMNT
NBC averaged a 0.5 rating and 813,000 viewers for last Sunday’s Rangers-Capitals NHL game, flat and up 7% respectively from 2019 (Rangers-Flyers: 0.5, 757K). NBCSN’s top games of the week: Flyers-Sabres Wednesday (290K, -18%), Islanders-Penguins Monday (253K, -31%), Kings-Golden Knights Wednesday (219K), Devils-Bruins Sunday (205K, -44%). No other game cracked 200,000. … A taped, primetime showing of the World Figure Skating Championships drew a 0.9 and 1.46 million on NBC last Saturday, down 25% and 21% respectively from 2019 (1.2, 1.84M). … UFC 260 prelims had a 0.43 and 718,000 on ESPN last Saturday, down 31% and 41% respectively from UFC 259 prelims three weeks earlier (0.6, 1.21M). The previous event did not face the NCAA Tournament. … Airing head-to-head, a United States-Northern Ireland men’s soccer friendly on FOX averaged more viewers (835K) than last Sunday’s aforementioned Rangers-Capitals game on NBC.
