Warriors-Kings delivered another big increase on Monday night. Plus: Jordan Spieth’s playoff loss boosted the PGA Tour; Chase Elliott’s return gave NASCAR its first increase of the season; the NCAA gymnastics championship hit a 16-year high.
Warriors-Kings scores another big jump in Game 2
Monday’s Warriors-Kings first round NBA playoff Game 2 averaged 4.32 million viewers on TNT, up 34% from Nuggets-Warriors last year (3.22M). Ratings were not immediately available. The Warriors-Kings series accounts for the two biggest year-over-year increases in this year’s NBA Playoffs (10 telecasts through Monday), with Saturday’s Game 1 on ABC up 38%. In both cases, last year’s equivalent game also featured Golden State.
Earlier Monday, Nets-Sixers Game 2 averaged a 1.7 and 3.00 million — flat in ratings and up 10% in viewership from Raptors-Sixers last year (1.7, 2.74M). The games dominated the rest of television in adults 18-49, 18-34 and 25-54.
In other NBA action, the Play-in Tournament finished with an average of 2.64 million across ESPN and TNT — up 5%. Friday’s Thunder-Timberwolves game averaged a 1.4 and 2.51 million on ESPN, up 15% in both measures from Pelicans-Clippers on TNT last year (1.2, 2.19M). Bulls-Heat opened the night with a 1.2 and 2.26 million on TNT, down 31% and 26% respectively from Hawks-Cavaliers a year ago (1.7, 3.07M).
Heritage hits 21-year high for Spieth playoff loss
Final round coverage of the PGA Tour Heritage tournament averaged a 2.5 rating and 4.15 million viewers on CBS Sunday, up 28% in ratings and 13% in viewership from last year (1.9, 3.67M) and the largest audience for the event since 2002. Matt Fitzpatrick’s playoff win over Jordan Spieth, which peaked with 6.29 million viewers, trails only the final round of the Masters as the most-watched golf telecast of the year — clocking in slightly ahead of the final round of the Players Championship last month (4.14M).
Third round action on Saturday drew a 1.3 and 2.09 million, about the same as last year.
NASCAR scores first increase of season in Elliott’s return
Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Martinsville (Va.), which marked Chase Elliott’s return from injury, averaged a 1.3 rating and 2.22 million viewers on FS1 — up 15% in ratings and 18% in viewership from last year (1.1, 1.89M) and the first Cup Series race of the season to post a year-over-year increase. Not only had the first eight races declined, but the last six of those fell by double-digits.
As one would expect with the race on FS1, the race still delivered the smallest audience of the season. Richmond two weeks earlier was the previous low with 2.30 million.
In the same mid-afternoon window Sunday, IndyCar racing from Long Beach averaged a 0.6 and 1.03 million on NBC — flat in ratings and down slightly in viewership from last year (0.6, 1.06M).
Sixteen-year high for NCAA women’s gymnastics championship
Saturday’s NCAA women’s gymnastics national championship averaged a 0.6 rating and 1.02 million viewers on ABC, marking the largest college gymnastics audience on any network in 16 years. It was the first meet to cross the million viewer threshold since the 2011 national championship on CBS (1.01M).
Oklahoma’s win, which peaked with 1.32 million viewers from 5:30-5:45 PM ET, posted a 10% increase in viewership over last year — when coverage aired in an earlier timeslot (922K).
Last Thursday’s national semifinals averaged 148,000 viewers on ESPN2, up 46% from last year on ESPNU and a six-year high.
(Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 4.18 a, b, Programming Insider 4.18, network PR)
