ESPN suffered more declines for NBA coverage; a star-studded edition of “The Match” opened on a low note; Iowa women’s basketball continues to trail the Caitlin Clark era; the NHL is suffering declines of its own.
Declines continue for NBA
Wednesday’s Bulls-Bucks NBA regular season game averaged a 0.7 rating and 1.22 million viewers on ESPN, down 36% and 40% respectively from Bucks-Celtics last year — with the caveat that the equivalent Wednesday last year was the night before Thanksgiving, a high-viewership night on which the NBA tends to schedule significant games. The Knicks-Suns nightcap drew 1.06 million, down a sharper 47% from last year’s Warriors-Suns nightcap (2.00M).
Going back to the prior Friday, both games of an ESPN doubleheader featuring LeBron James and Stephen Curry declined from the prior year’s slate, which featured neither star. Lakers-Spurs drew a 0.7 and 1.28 million, down a tick and 7% respectively from Kings-Spurs a year ago (0.8, 1.37M). Grizzlies-Warriors followed with 1.03 million, down 21% from Suns-Jazz a year ago (1.30M).
Quiet start for star-studded “The Match”
The second half of Thursday’s “The Match” golf doubleheader — pitting the team of Charles Barkley and Ken Griffey Jr. against Wayne Gretzky and Bill Murray — averaged a 0.1 rating and 150,000 viewers on TNT. That pales in comparison to previous editions of “The Match,” which were one-night, one-competition events that aired on multiple networks. This year’s edition split the competition into four contests and aired on only one linear network, TNT.
Figures for the first half of the doubleheader (Mark Wahlberg and Michael Phelps versus Nate Bargatze and Blake Griffin) were not immediately available.
Iowa women’s hoops still no match for last year
Wednesday’s Kansas-Iowa women’s college basketball game — the Hawkeyes’ third game on linear television this season — averaged a 0.10 rating and 175,000 viewers on BTN. Like their previous game on BTN, a matchup against Toledo that drew 136,000 the previous Wednesday, the Hawkeyes’ win trailed all of their games on linear television last season. Nonetheless, viewership outpaced the Tarleton-Michigan men’s basketball game on BTN the following night, which drew just 94,000 (albeit facing NFL competition).
Another steep drop for NHL
TNT averaged a 0.13 rating and 237,000 viewers for Wednesday’s Hurricanes-Flyers NHL regular season game, down 48% and 54% respectively from Bruins-Panthers on Thanksgiving Eve last year (0.25, 517K). Coverage was blacked out in Philadelphia. Figures for the Predators-Kraken nightcap, which aired on both TNT and truTV, were not immediately available.
