ESPN scored the largest weeknight men’s college basketball audience since the Maui Invitational.
Monday’s Duke-NC State men’s college basketball game averaged 1.32 million viewers on ESPN, marking the largest weeknight college basketball audience on any network since a South Carolina-LSU women’s game on ESPN January 25 (1.56M). Among men’s games, it was the most-watched weeknight game since the Purdue-Marquette Maui Invitational final (1.59M).
The Blue Devils’ win was the most-watched sporting event of the day, with the Texas-Baylor lead-out placing second at 971,000. (There are no useful comparisons to the same night last year, which featured conference tournament games.)
Shifting to the pro game, NBA TV averaged 533,000 viewers for Thunder-Lakers and 524,000 for Clippers-Bucks — up 39 and 71 percent respectively from the same night last year (Pelicans-Kings: 384K; Hawks-Heat: 306K). The games rank fifth and sixth for the season on NBA TV.
Beyond the hardwood, USA Network averaged 179,000 for an Arsenal-Sheffield English Premier League match. Golf Channel drew 157,000 for the weather-delayed conclusion of the PGA Tour event formerly known as the Honda Classic. MLB Network chipped in 136,000 for a Phillies-Blue Jays Spring Training game.
ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show returned from hiatus with 245,000 viewers. Live coverage of Eagles C Jason Kelce’s retirement press conference averaged 58,000 on NFL Network.
Monday, March 4 sports ratings
Updated chart:
Original chart below, including WWE Raw:
