Ratings roundup: Thursday Night Football continued the NFL’s strong start; the WNBA had its most-watched regular season in 13 years; NASCAR is riding its longest streak of increases since 2013. Plus some late season baseball numbers.
Thursday Night Football up for second-straight week
The latest edition of NFL Thursday Night Football (Panthers-Texans) averaged 7.39 million viewers on NFL Network (7.9M including additional streaming data not tracked by Nielsen), up 36% from Dolphins-Jaguars last year, which faced unprecedented NBA conference final competition (5.43M), and up 17% from Titans-Jaguars in 2019 (6.32M).
Carolina’s win surpassed the previous week’s game (Giants-Washington FT) as NFL Network’s most-watched exclusive Thursday night game since 2018. Keep in mind NFL Network has drawn larger audiences for some of its late season Saturday exclusives.
WNBA season is most-watched since 2008
WNBA games averaged 321,000 viewers across ESPN, ESPN2, ABC and CBS during the regular season, up 51% from last year and the league’s most-watched season in 13 years. This season included 11 windows on broadcast television (ABC + CBS), the league’s most in a season since at least two decades (NBC carried 10 in 2001 and 2002).
Games on the ESPN networks averaged 306,000, up 49% from last year (205K), up 24% from 2019 (246K) and the league’s highest average on the ESPN family of networks since 2009 (318K). Fifteen of the 24 games on the ESPN networks aired on either ESPN or ABC, compared to less than half (18) of last year’s expanded 37-game slate.
After bottoming out at 171,000 viewers in 2017, regular season WNBA viewership on ESPN/ABC has now increased in three of the last four seasons, last year’s shortened “bubble” campaign being the exception.
Shifting to the playoffs, Thursday’s single-elimination Liberty-Mercury game averaged 243,000, preceded by Wings-Sky at 239,000 — up a whopping 109% and 141% respectively from last year opposite unprecedented NBA playoff competition (Mystics-Mercury: 116K; Sun-Sky: 99K). Compared to 2019, Liberty-Mercury fell 2% (vs. Mercury-Sky: 247K) and Wings-Sky rose 8% (vs. Lynx-Storm: 221K).
NASCAR has longest streak of increases in eight years
Last Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff race from Bristol (Tenn.) averaged a 1.2 rating and 2.20 million viewers on NBCSN, flat in ratings and up 3% from last year, when coverage faced unusual NBA and NHL playoff competition (1.2. 2.13M), but down 20% and 12% respectively from 2019, when the race was still taking place in August (1.5, 2.50M).
Viewership has now increased for five-straight Cup Series races, the longest such streak since 2013.
The corresponding Xfinity Series race averaged a 0.49 (+4%) and 865,000 (+13%) last Friday night.
In other racing action, last Sunday’s NHRA event at Charlotte averaged a 0.8 and 1.45 million adjacent to FOX NFL coverage — the largest live audience ever for the series. Taped events have had larger audiences, including a post-NASCAR window in 2017 that drew 1.62 million. The NHRA outdrew the competing IndyCar Series race on NBC (Laguna Seca), which had a 0.44 and 715,000 — down 12% and 2% respectively from 2019, when it served as the season finale.
Quiet week for baseball as season winds down
Regional Major League Baseball action on FOX (Cubs-Brewers or Phillies-Mets) averaged a 0.9 rating and 1.68 million viewers last Saturday night, up a third and 32% respectively from last year (Braves-Mets or White Sox-Reds: 0.7, 1.28M). For the season, the telecast ranks second-to-last out of the 12 FOX windows.
On Sunday, Phillies-Mets drew a mere 0.42 (-7%) and 735,000 (-1%) on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball — the least-watched Sunday night game in two years (9/22/19 Phillies-Indians: 701K). Earlier in the day, TBS turned in just a 0.11 and 214,000 for Dodgers-Reds, somehow up 12% from Yankees-Red Sox last year (191K).
Shifting to the workweek, ESPN drew 542,000 viewers for Blue Jays-Rays on Tuesday (+24%), followed by a Wednesday doubleheader of Mets-Red Sox and Giants-Padres at 541,000 and 360,000 respectively. FS1 chipped in 234,000 for Giants-Padres on Tuesday.
