The first Premier Boxing Champions telecast on Spike TV scored the sport’s best Friday night audience in nearly a decade. In other news, ESPN had double-digit increases for both games of a Monday NBA doubleheader, and the Women’s NCAA Tournament Selection Show hit a four-year high.
Premier Boxing Champions Delivers Top Friday Boxing Audience in 8 Years
- The debut of the Premier Boxing Champions series on Spike TV earned 869,000 viewers Friday night, the largest audience for a Friday boxing telecast in more than eight years — since ESPN2 drew 906,000 for a January 2007 edition of Friday Night Fights. To put the numbers in perspective, Fox Sports 1 averaged 1.4 million viewers for UFC coverage through February. (via ESPN.com)
Monday NBA Doubleheader Up Double-Digits on ESPN
- Monday’s Cavaliers/Heat NBA regular season game drew 1.9 million viewers on ESPN, up 25% from Thunder/Bulls last year (1.5M) but down 50% from Heat/Celtics in 2013, which was part of Miami’s 27-game winning streak (3.8M). Of the 20 Cavaliers games that can be compared to last year, 18 have had increases in viewership. The Lakers/Warriors nightcap had 1.6 million, up 12% from Clippers/Nuggets last year (1.4M) and virtually even with Knicks/Jazz in 2013 (1.6M). (via TV By the Numbers)
Women’s Selection Show Hits Four-Year High
- The Women’s NCAA Tournament Selection Show drew a 0.6 final rating and 906,000 viewers on ESPN Monday night, up a tick in ratings and 39% in viewership from last year (0.5, 652K), and the most-watched edition of the show in four years. Hartford-New Haven (4.4) was the top market, with Knoxville, TN (2.2), Memphis (1.5), West Palm Beach (1.3) and Cincinnati (1.2) rounding out the top five. (ESPN Media Zone)
