NBA All-Star Saturday Night topped the sports ratings charts for February 17.
The annual NBA All-Star Saturday Night averaged a combined 2.2 rating and 4.56 million viewers across TNT (2.1, 4.41M) and truTV (0.08, 154K), which as previously noted is the largest audience for the event since 2020. Ratings and viewership increased 34% from last year’s low point of 1.6 and 3.42 million. A re-air on TNT followed with a 0.27 and 457,000.
All-Star Saturday Night was the top sporting event of the day and also averaged more viewers than any primetime television program on broadcast or cable.
Placing a distant second among sporting events, third round coverage of the PGA Tour at Riviera averaged a 1.2 and 1.93 million on CBS — down a third in ratings and 32% in viewership from last year, when Tiger Woods’ made the cut (1.8, 2.84M). Lead-in coverage on Golf Channel at a 0.40 and 652,000.
Returning to the hardwood, Kentucky-Auburn topped the college basketball charts with a 0.9 and 1.73 million on ESPN, up 24% in ratings and 30% in viewership from Duke-Syracuse last year (0.7, 1.33M). Kansas-Oklahoma led-in with a 0.8 and 1.37 million, down 10% and 12% respectively from Baylor-Kansas a year ago (0.85, 1.56M). Rounding out the ESPN slate, Duke-Florida State had a 0.54 (+5%) and 971,000 (+1%), Texas A&M-Alabama a 0.38 (-30%) and 623,000 (-36%) and Colorado-USC a 0.22 and 399,000 following UFC.
FOX drew a 0.7 and 1.33 million for Michigan State-Michigan in primetime, down 2% and 5% respectively the same matchup last year (0.7, 1.40M), preceded by Illinois-Maryland at a 0.6 (+53%) and 1.00 million (+52%), Marquette-UConn at a 0.6 (+65%) and 1.09 million (+58%) and Creighton-Butler at a 0.35 (-2%) and 596,000 (-6%). CBS chipped in a 0.54 and 869,000 for Texas-Houston, well below Tennessee-Kentucky a year ago (0.9, 1.55M).
In a notable primetime head-to-head, the UFC on ESPN outdrew the NHL Stadium Series on ABC. UFC 298 prelims averaged a 0.6 and 1.15 million on ESPN — the largest single-network UFC audience since last August — and the Flyers-Devils Stadium Series game on ABC a 0.6 and 1.13 million on ABC. New Jersey’s win slipped a fraction of a percent from a Capitals-Hurricanes Stadium Series game in the same window last year (1.14M).
The Stadium Series game was the third of an ABC tripleheader. Earlier in the day, Kings-Bruins drew a 0.50 and 823,000 and Oilers-Stars a 0.41 and 759,000. ABC did not carry any afternoon games last year.
In other action, a Chelsea-Manchester City English Premier League match averaged a combined 0.8 and 1.45 million across NBC (0.6, 1.08M), Telemundo (0.15, 279K) and Universo (0.06, 93K), marking the second-largest Nielsen-measured audience of the EPL season. Arsenal-Liverpool averaged 1.49 million in December.
NBC also drew a 0.6 and 1.05 million for the track & field U.S. Indoor Championship. In between, an NFL special about flag football drew a 0.25 and 393,000.
Returning to the NBA, the All-Star Weekend special “Indiana Glory” drew a 0.13 and 222,000 on TNT.
Saturday, February 17 sports ratings
