NBC earned a modest increase for the annual NHL Black Friday game. In other news, viewership dropped 45% for the Knicks and Nets Thursday night, and a Liga MX playoff put up the year’s best numbers for a sporting event on Spanish-language cable.
NHL Black Friday Game Up on NBC
- The Rangers/Bruins NHL “Thanksgiving Showdown” drew a 1.0 final rating and 1.5 million viewers on NBC Black Friday, up a tick in ratings and 12% in viewership from Red Wings/Bruins in 2011. Last year’s Black Friday game was canceled by the owners. (Nielsen)
NBA Update: Knicks/Nets Down 45% on TNT
- Thursday’s Knicks/Nets NBA regular season game drew 1.5 million viewers on TNT, down 45% from Knicks/Heat last year (2.7M), and the network’s second-smallest audience of the season. The Heat/Bulls nightcap drew 2.1 million, up 76% from Mavericks/Suns last year (1.2M). Going back further, ESPN drew 1.9 million for the November 27 Heat/Cavaliers game. (The Futon Critic [1], [2])
Liga MX Hits High on Spanish-Language Cable, Tops EPL
- The Club America/Tigres Liga MX quarterfinal drew 1.0 million viewers on Univision Deportes Network last Sunday, the largest audience of the year for a sporting event on a Spanish-language cable network. By comparison, the week’s top EPL telecast — NBC’s West Brom/Newcastle match — drew 553,000. (Univision, Nielsen)
