The UEFA Champions League final topped a busy day of domestic and international sports on Saturday, June 1.
Saturday’s Real Madrid-Borussia Dortmund UEFA Champions League Final averaged a combined 1.4 rating and 3.62 million viewers across CBS (0.9, 2.32M) and the combination of Univision and TUDN (0.51, 1.30M), down a tick in ratings but up 6% in viewership from last year (1.5, 3.42M). (Figures for Univision and TUDN include 50 additional minutes of shoulder programming.)
The combined audience made Real Madrid’s win the most-watched sportscast of the day.
On CBS, viewership trailed only Real Madrid-Liverpool two years ago (2.76M) and Barcelona-Manchester United on FOX in 2011 (2.58M) as the highest on record for the UCL final on English-language television.
The NHL placed second for the day as ABC averaged a 1.5 and 3.02 million for the Rangers-Panthers Eastern Conference Final Game 6 — marking the largest conference final audience in nine years and the third-largest playoff audience (outside of the Stanley Cup Final) in the past four. For more on NHL ratings, see this article.
In the same primetime window, FOX averaged a 1.1 and 2.06 million for regional Major League Baseball action — the network’s largest MLB audience since the opening weekend of the season, but down from a 1.2 and 2.17 million on the same weekend last year.
As for the day’s most discussed sporting event, the Sky-Fever WNBA regular season game — the first WNBA meeting of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese — averaged a 0.9 and 1.53 million on ESPN, the fourth-largest WNBA audience in the past 22 years. Caitlin Clark has played in each of the top four. For more on viewership for the game, see this article.
Shifting to the Women’s College World Series, ABC drew a 0.8 and 1.33 million for Oklahoma-UCLA — flat in ratings and down 3% in viewership from Oklahoma-Tennessee last year (0.8, 1.37M). Florida-Texas drew a 0.6 and 1.03 million on ESPN in primetime, flat and down 7% respectively from a 0.6 and 1.11 million for last year’s FSU-Washington game (0.6, 1.11M).
In men’s action, LSU-North Carolina topped the day’s NCAA baseball regionals slate with a 0.38 and 756,000 on ESPN2, followed by Texas-Texas A&M at a 0.38 and 690,000 on ESPN. The full day of baseball regionals on the ESPN networks averaged 0.21 and 387,000.
Further down the dial, CBS drew a 0.6 and 1.14 million for third round coverage of the PGA Tour Canadian Open, which aired in a special evening timeslot due to the UCL final — down 24% in ratings and 16% in viewership from coverage in the same post-UCL slot last year (0.8, 1.35M). Third round coverage of the US Women’s Open drew a 0.54 and 825,000 on NBC, down 22% and 24% respectively from last year (0.69, 1.08M).
NBC’s US Women’s Open coverage was preceded by French Open action at a 0.52 and 803,000.
Elsewhere, UFC 302 prelims scored a 0.6 and 1.10 million on ESPN2, up from the previous PPV prelims last month (796K). In the UFL, San Antonio-St. Louis drew a 0.50 and 836,000 on FOX and Michigan-Birmingham a 0.43 and 753,000 on ESPN.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series topped the day in motorsports as FS1 drew a 0.40 and 737,000 for racing from Portland, down from last year’s 0.46 and 824,000. Rain-delayed Truck Series action from St. Louis had a 0.39 and 624,000 on “big FOX.”
In the ‘other’ Champions League final, the championship of the Concacaf Champions League between Pachuca of Liga MX and the MLS Columbus Crew drew a combined 0.27 and 678,000 across FS1 (0.05, 135K) and the combination of UniMas and TUDN (0.22, 543K).
Rounding out the day in soccer, the USWNT match against Korea drew a 0.20 and 423,000 across TNT (0.17, 346K) and truTV (0.03, 77K), preceded by a match between the U.S. Women’s Deaf National Team against Australia on truTV alone at a 0.01 and 20,000.
Rounding out a busy sports day, the opening match of the Premier Lacrosse League season (Utah-Philadelphia) drew a 0.25 and 420,000 on ABC. Live coverage of the men’s final at the US Gymnastics Championships drew a 0.13 and 208,000 on CNBC, lower than taped coverage of the previous night’s women’s competition earlier in the day (0.14, 232K).
Saturday, June 1 sports ratings
