LeBron James’ record chase was not enough to overcome airing on ESPN2; the Premier League hit another viewership milestone; a “30 For 30” about the 2000 Ravens failed to move the needle Sunday night; and more.
James’ record chase takes hit from ESPN2
Saturday’s Lakers-Pelicans NBA regular season game averaged a 0.65 rating and 1.22 million viewers on ESPN2, the least-watched game involving LeBron James on ESPN/ABC or TNT this season. It was the first NBA regular season game to air on ESPN2 since Jazz-Lakers in 2016, Kobe Bryant’s famed 60-point career finale (3.5M).
Excluding NFL simulcasts, the Lakers’ loss was the most-watched ESPN2 program since the Mississippi State-Illinois Outback Bowl on January 2 (2.18M). It was a late addition to the national TV schedule due to James’ pursuit of the NBA’s all-time scoring record and aired on ESPN2 because ESPN was occupied with North Carolina-Duke (1.4, 2.86M).
Later in the night, Mavericks-Warriors drew a 1.3 and 2.36 million on ABC’s NBA Saturday Primetime — down 10% in ratings and 8% in viewership from Knicks-Lakers last year (1.5, 2.58M). On Sunday, ESPN averaged a 0.9 and 1.75 million for Sixers-Knicks following Pro Bowl coverage — up 25% and 27% respectively from Hawks-Mavericks a year ago (0.75, 1.37M).
Another milestone audience for Premier League on NBC
Sunday’s Manchester City-Tottenham English Premier League match averaged a combined 0.8 rating and 1.4 million viewers across NBC (0.7, 1.11M) and Telemundo (0.16, 288K), a figure that rises to 1.76 million including additional streaming viewership not tracked by Nielsen (358K) — the second-largest audience on record for a live Premier League match. Spurs’ win trails only Arsenal-Manchester United last month (1.0, 1.79M on linear, 2.30M including additional streaming viewership).
Both matches, it should be noted, aired in a new 11:30 AM ET window on the NBC broadcast network. Traditionally, Sunday morning matches have aired on cable only.
NBC’s Premier League coverage is now averaging 524,000 viewers per window across TV and streaming, up 4% year-over-year.
“Bullies of Baltimore” no match for “Tuck Rule”
The premiere of the ESPN 30 For 30 documentary “Bullies of Baltimore” — about the 2000 Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens — averaged 805,000 viewers Sunday night, down 25% from last year’s premiere of “The Tuck Rule,” about the 2001 playoff game between the Patriots and Raiders (1.07M). Viewership did outpace “Al Davis vs. the NFL” two years ago, which also aired in the lead-up to the Super Bowl but in a weeknight window (~673K).
The 25% decline came despite a 27% gain for the show’s lead-in, the previously-mentioned Sixers-Knicks NBA game.
Plus: PGA Tour, Bellator, Senior Bowl, PBR & PBA
Final round coverage of the PGA Tour at Pebble Beach averaged a 1.4 rating and 2.27 million viewers on CBS Sunday, down 26% in ratings and viewership from last year (1.9, 3.09M) and the least-watched final round of the event in at least a decade. Not counting Saturday’s rainout (0.6, 963K), the first three PGA windows on CBS this season have declined by double-digits. … The CBS debut of Bellator mixed martial arts averaged a 0.7 and 1.07 million Saturday night, the largest single-network MMA audience since ESPN drew 1.53 million for UFC prelims last March. … Saturday’s college football Senior Bowl averaged a 0.23 and 380,000 on NFL Network, down 23% in ratings and 22% in viewership from last year (0.30, 487K) and easily the least-watched edition of the game since at least 2010. … Coverage of the PBR (bullriding) and PBA (bowling) both topped the million viewer mark on Sunday, with the former averaging a 0.7 and 1.07 million on CBS and the latter a 0.6 and 1.01 million on FOX. Both increased over the same weekend last year, when the PBR drew a 0.6 and 908,000 on CBS and the PBA (on FS1) had a 0.1 and 201,000.
(Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 2.7, network PR)
