ESPN ended its regular season NBA coverage with a season-low Wednesday night. In other news, NBC earned one of its smallest Premier League audiences of the season, and fewer viewers watched IndyCar opposite The Masters on Sunday.
ESPN Ends NBA Season With Season-Low
- Wednesday’s Hornets/Raptors NBA regular season game drew 717,000 viewers on ESPN, down 43% from Mavericks/Grizzlies last year (1.3M), down 56% from Jazz/Grizzlies in 2013 (1.6M) and the least-watched game of the season on national TV (excludes NBA TV). Twelve games this season earned fewer than one million viewers, more than doubling last year’s total of five. Pacers/Grizzlies drew 1.3 million later in the night, down 19% from Clippers/Blazers last year (1.6M) and down 48% from Rockets/Lakers in 2013 (2.5M). (via ShowBuzz Daily)
Small Audience For Premier League on NBC
- NBC drew a 0.6 final rating and 723,000 viewers for last Saturday’s Burnley/Arsenal English Premier League match, the network’s fourth-smallest audience of the season (18 telecasts). There was no comparable telecast last year. Despite the low numbers, the telecast finished ahead of NBC’s regional NHL action later in the afternoon (0.5, 634K). (via Sports Business Daily)
Fewer Viewers For IndyCar Opposite Masters
- Last Sunday’s inaugural IndyCar Series race from New Orleans drew a 0.2 final rating and 341,000 viewers on NBCSN, down a tick in ratings and 7% in viewership from last year’s comparable Long Beach race (0.3, 368K). Both this year and last, coverage aired directly opposite the final round of The Masters. (via Awful Announcing)
