NBC is projecting a solid audience for Thursday’s lopsided Bills-Rams NFL season opener. Plus: the US Open women’s semifinals hit a viewership low, NASCAR and F1 went in opposite directions last weekend, and MLB on FOX neared a broadcast TV low.
NBC projects 21 million for Bills-Rams NFL Kickoff Game
NBC is projecting that Thursday’s Bills-Rams NFL Kickoff Game will end up averaging in excess of 21 million viewers across its various TV and digital platforms when the final nationals are released on Monday, a figure that would trail last year’s Cowboys-Buccaneers opener (~25M) but fall in line with Texans-Chiefs two years ago (~20.5M).
Nielsen estimates for Thursday’s broadcast network programs were delayed due to the Labor Day holiday. The Bills’ blowout win was the most lopsided season opener since 2013 and faced competition from breaking news coverage.
US Open women’s semis hit low
Airing opposite the NFL Kickoff Game and breaking news coverage, Thursday’s US Open women’s semifinals (Ons Jabeur-Carolina Garcia and Iga Swiatek-Aryna Sabalenka) averaged 1.17 million viewers on ESPN — the smallest audience for the round since the current scheduling format began in 2015 and the third-lowest primetime audience of this year’s tournament.
In the week since Serena Williams’ final match, the most-watched US Open windows were Tuesday’s quarterfinal night session at 1.79 million (Garcia-Coco Gauff and Karen Khachanov-Nick Kyrgios) and Monday’s day session at 1.72 million (featuring Frances Tiafoe-Rafael Nadal). Those telecasts rank as the third and fifth-most watched of the tournament thus far.
NASCAR Darlington dips, F1 Dutch GP hits high
Last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener from Darlington (S.C.) averaged a 1.4 rating and 2.34 million viewers on USA Network, flat in ratings but the smallest audience for the race in three years — since the late night 2019 race (1.86M).
Earlier in the day, the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix pulled a 0.6 and 1.15 million on ESPN — up 32% from last year (870K) and the largest audience ever for the race. Despite averaging less-than-half the audience of the NASCAR race overall, F1 outdrew NASCAR in adults 18-49 (0.40 to 0.36) and 18-34 (0.37 to 0.26). F1 viewership remains up a third from last year to 1.3 million.
In other racing action, last weekend’s IndyCar Series race from Portland averaged a 0.6 and 979,000 on the NBC broadcast network — up double-digits from last year opposite the NFL.
MLB on FOX nears broadcast TV low opposite ND-OSU
Facing the Notre Dame-Ohio State college football game, last week’s edition of MLB on FOX averaged a mere 0.55 rating and 949,000 viewers — topping only a hastily-added makeup game two years ago as the least-watched MLB window ever on broadcast TV. The following day, Padres-Dodgers drew a 0.6 and 1.14 million on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, down sharply from Dodgers-Giants last year (0.85, ~1.7M).
(Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 9.7, NBC Sports PR)
