NBA playoff viewership continues to surge over the “bubble” and edge 2019; local ratings in the NBA and NHL went in opposite directions; the Premier League season declined double-digits.
NBA playoff viewership up 61% from the “bubble”
Through Thursday, NBA playoff games have averaged 2.89 million viewers across ESPN, ABC and TNT (16 telecasts), up 61% from the comparable point of last year’s months-delayed “bubble” postseason (1.80M) and up 3% from same number of games in 2019, the last time the playoffs took place during its usual time of year (2.80M).
Figures for Thursday’s Game 3 telecasts were not immediately available. Lakers-Suns was the most-watched Game 2 with 4.02 million on TNT Tuesday night, up 17% from the comparable night in the “bubble” (Blazers-Lakers Game 1: 3.45M) and up 55% from 2019 (Thunder-Blazers Game 2: 2.59M). Grizzlies-Jazz ranked second among Game 2s with 2.76 million on TNT Wednesday, up 21% from the “bubble” (Mavericks-Clippers: 2.28M) and up 7% from 2019 (Jazz-Rockets: 2.58M).
In other Game 2 action, Hawks-Knicks drew 2.58 million earlier Wednesday — up 51% from last year (Sixers-Celtics: 1.71M) and up 19% from 2019 (Pacers-Celtics: 2.16M). Blazers-Nuggets drew 2.55 million on Monday (-8% from 2019), Celtics-Nets 2.46 million on Tuesday (+10%) and Heat-Bucks 2.42 million on Monday (-15%). NBA TV chipped in 341,000 for Wizards-Sixers Wednesday night.
National figures for Tuesday’s Mavericks-Clippers Game 2 on NBA TV were unavailable, but the game averaged more viewers in Dallas-Ft. Worth (80K) than the considerably larger Los Angeles market (73K), where the Lakers were playing concurrently on TNT.
Local NHL up, local NBA down
Local NHL ratings increased by 15% during the shortened regular season, while local NBA ratings declined 4%, according to a Sports Business Journal analysis. The Penguins averaged the highest local rating of any NBA or NHL team, with a 7.79 on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh (+36%), followed the Warriors on NBC Sports Bay Area (5.96), the Jazz on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (5.90, +9%), the Golden Knights on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (5.08, +31%) and the Blues on Fox/Bally Sports Midwest (4.31, -2%).
The Sabres (4.30, -35%) and Bruins (4.19, +19%) rounded out the top five in the NHL, while the Blazers (3.26, +6%), Sixers (2.85, -10%) and Spurs (2.74, -18%) rounded out the top five in the NBA. Beyond the top five, notable results include gains of 51% for the Knicks (1.24), 70% for the Nets (0.68) and 71% for the Avalanche (1.06). The NBA champion Lakers saw their ratings decline 35% (to 1.94), with the caveat that the team’s two biggest stars missed large chunks of the season.
Premier League viewership down 10% to low
The Premier League season averaged 414,000 viewers on the NBC Sports networks, including streaming data not tracked by Nielsen, down 10% from last year (462K) and down 9% from the last non-interrupted season in 2018-19 (457K). Per Sports Business Journal, this season was the least-watched in a decade. Matches on the NBC broadcast network averaged 879,000 (+2%).
Last weekend’s EPL Championship Sunday averaged a combined 1.4 million viewers, a figure that does not include ten matches on the streaming service Peacock.
In other soccer action, the NCAA men’s soccer national championship (Marshall-Indiana) averaged 195,000 and the women’s title game (Santa Clara-Florida State) 149,000 on ESPN2 May 17, up 79% and 51% respectively from last season, when the events took place as scheduled in December.
[Some Nielsen estimates from Programming Insider 5.25, 5.26, John Ourand/Twitter 5.27, ESPN PR/Twitter 5.19; Sports Business Journal 5.26, 5.27 a, b]
