Fewer viewers tuned in for Duke and North Carolina in the ACC/SEC Challenge; NBA viewership continues to drop; the NHL posted some rare gains on TNT; and more.
Fewer viewers for Duke, UNC, in ACC/SEC Challenge
Wednesday’s Auburn-Duke ACC/SEC Challenge men’s college basketball game averaged a 0.8 rating and 1.34 million viewers on ESPN, flat in ratings and down 4% in viewership from the Blue Devils’ matchup with Arkansas last year (0.8, 1.40M). Alabama-North Carolina led in with a 0.59 and 970,000, down 20% and 22% respectively from the Tar Heels against Tennessee a year ago (0.7, 1.24M).
Both games outdrew Creighton’s upset of #1 Kansas on FS1, which drew a 0.35 and 635,000.
On Tuesday, Syracuse-Tennessee drew a 0.43 and 787,000 on ESPN — down 34% and 32% respectively from last year’s matchup of Miami and Kentucky (0.6, 1.15M). Kentucky-Clemson followed with 935,000, up 68% from Clemson-Alabama a year ago (555K).
More declines as NBA Cup group stage ends
Tuesday’s Nuggets-Warriors NBA Cup group stage game averaged 1.1 million viewers on TNT, down 44% from a Suns-Lakers quarterfinal on the equivalent night last year (2.0M). (A more apples-to-apples comparison to the final night of last year’s group stage — which took place a week earlier in the season — results in the same 45% decline from 2.0 million for Warriors-Kings.)
Earlier in the night, the Knicks’ rout of the Magic averaged a mere 0.58 rating and 956,000 viewers — down 43% and 45% respectively from last year’s comparable Knicks-Bucks quarterfinal, and down 26% and 27% respectively from the final night of last year’s group stage (Bucks-Heat: 0.8, 1.32M).
In the penultimate night of the group stage, Thunder-Lakers averaged 1.14 million on ESPN Black Friday — down 4% from Nuggets-Suns on the equivalent night of last season (1.19M) and a steeper 28% from last year’s Black Friday matchup of San Antonio and Golden State (1.58M).
Clippers-Timberwolves led in with a mere 0.37 and 723,000, down more than a third from both Sixers-Celtics on the equivalent night of last season (0.7, 1.30M) and last year’s Black Friday matchup of the Heat and Knicks (0.58, 1.10M).
B’s-Blackhawks keys rare gains for NHL on TNT
Wednesday’s Bruins-Blackhawks NHL regular season game averaged a 0.26 rating and 487,000 viewers on TNT, up 30% in ratings and 57% in viewership from Sabres-Blue Jackets last year (0.20, 311K) and the network’s second-most watched game this season. The Stars-Kings nightcap drew 232,000, up 30% from last year’s Hurricanes-Oiolers game (179K). With an average of 355,000, the full doubleheader increased 47% from last year and 78% from 2022.
Going back to Black Friday, TNT drew a 0.22 (-12%) and 483,000 (-9%) for Penguins-Bruins and 177,000 for Avalanche-Stars (-56%).
Two nights earlier, Capitals-Lightning drew a 0.13 and 268,000 and Golden Knights-Avalanche followed with 207,000. Viewership fell sharply from both the equivalent night of last season (Red Wings-Rangers: 757K) and the same night before Thanksgiving last season (Bruins-Panthers: 517K; Golden Knights-Stars 314K).
Plus: F1, college volleyball, MLS
— Last week’s Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix averaged 990,000 viewers on ESPN2, the largest audience yet for the race, which was run for only the third time. Max Verstappen’s win, which peaked with 1.16 million, increased 20% from last year (824K).
— The NCAA women’s volleyball tournament selection show averaged 268,000 viewers on ESPN, up 59% from last year (168K) and a new record. The ESPN networks averaged 140,000 for the full regular season, up 21% from last year and a new high.
— A typical Saturday of Major League Soccer games attracts an audience of “more than one million people” on Apple TV+, according to sources cited by Paul Tenorio of The Athletic. On any given Saturday, there were around 13 matches, putting the individual match audience in the neighborhood of five-figures. There is no third-party measurement of MLS matches on Apple TV+.
