The NBA Playoffs on ABC delivered the top two sports audiences of Saturday, May 11.
ABC averaged a 3.0 rating and 5.60 million viewers for Celtics-Cavaliers and a 2.0 and 3.87 million for Thunder-Mavericks in second round NBA playoff action on Saturday, down from last year’s equivalent windows (Warriors-Lakers: 4.2, 8.37M; Knicks-Heat: 2.1, 3.91M) but still the top two sportscasts of the day.
For more on the weekend NBA playoff ratings, see the preceding link.
Shifting to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, TNT and truTV combined to average a 0.8 and 1.76 million for Rangers-Hurricanes and a 0.72 and 1.55 million for Stars-Avalanche, both up from last year’s solo Oilers-Golden Knights game. For more on Stanley Cup numbers, see this article.
The PGA Tour topped the non-playoff slate with a 1.0 and 1.66 million for third round coverage from Charlotte on CBS, up 28% and 30% respectively from last year’s 0.8 and 1.28 million.
Regional Major League Baseball action on FOX drew a 0.9 and 1.55 million — down a tick in ratings and 15% in viewership from last year (1.0, 1.82M) — preceded by a St. Louis-Birmingham UFL game at a 0.46 and 758,000. In other UFL action, Memphis-Arlington drew a 0.32 and 586,000 on ESPN.
Liga MX topped the soccer charts with a 0.5 and 1.13 million for Toluca-Guadalajara on Univision, followed by English Premier League action as NBC drew a 0.50 and 898,000 for Chelsea-Nottingham. The NWSL on ION topped out at a 0.12 and 160,000 (Bay FC-Orlando) and MLS (Columbus-Cincinnati) had a 0.06 and 104,000 across FS1 and Fox Deportes.
Further down the dial, ESPN drew a 0.49 and 903,000 for a UFC Fight Night, leading into Top Rank Boxing at a 0.40 and 725,000.
In auto racing, the IndyCar Series Indianapolis Grand Prix had a 0.52 and 875,000 on NBC — up 13% and 23% respectively from last year (0.46, 715K) — topping NASCAR Xfinity Series action from Darlington on FS1 at a 0.48 and 782,000.
Shifting to college softball, the Oklahoma-Texas Big 12 Tournament final topped the conference tournament slate with a 0.29 and 563,000 — trailing an NBA-boosted Alabama-Arkansas game last month (569K) as the largest college softball audience of the season.
The Florida-Missouri SEC Tournament final led in with a 0.25 and 470,000, preceded by the FSU-Duke ACC title game at a 0.22 and 368,000. Bookending the ESPN2 slate, the Wichita State-Charlotte American Athletic final drew a 0.12 and 201,000 and the Utah-UCLA Pac-12 title game had a 0.20 and 340,000.
The Indiana-Nebraska Big Ten Tournament final was much further back at a mere 0.04 and 65,000, leading into a baseball game between the same teams at a 0.02 and 47,000.
Saturday, May 11 sports ratings
