The Premier League got off to a strong start on the NBC family of networks, as six of the seven opening weekend windows scored double-digit gains in viewership.
The Chelsea/Swansea City English Premier League match earned 1.0 million viewers on NBC Saturday afternoon, up 14% from Arsenal/Crystal Palace last year (885K), up 26% from Swansea City/Manchester United in 2013 (792K), and the most-watched opening weekend Premier League match ever on U.S. television.
NBC has started each season of its Premier League coverage with a record opening weekend audience.
Over on NBCSN, Manchester United/Tottenham drew 626,000 early Saturday morning — up 50% from Swansea City/Manchester United last year (417K), up 118% from Stoke/Liverpool in 2013 (287K) and the largest opening weekend audience ever on a U.S. cable network. The previous high was 514,000 for Newcastle/Manchester City last year, which aired on a Sunday morning.
In the mid-morning window, Bournemouth/Aston Villa drew 410,000 viewers on NBCSN and Everton/Watford scored 277,000 on USA Network. The combined audience of 687,000 viewers easily topped last year’s comparable 477,000 for Everton/Leicester City on NBCSN.
Shifting to Sunday, Stoke/Liverpool drew 610,000 viewers on NBCSN in the late morning window — up 19% from Newcastle/Manchester City last year (514K), up 38% from Hull/Chelsea in 2013 (443K), and the second-largest opening weekend audience on cable. West Ham/Arsenal had 405,000 in the early window, actually down 9% from Southampton/Liverpool last year (445K) but up 70% from Tottenham/Crystal Palace in 2013 (238K).
Finally, Monday’s Manchester City/West Brom match earned 414,000 on NBCSN — up 45% from Burnley/Chelsea last year (286K) and up 119% from Newcastle/Manchester City in 2013 (189K).
(Wknd. numbers from NBC Sports Group Press Box, ShowBuzz Daily [1], [2], [3])
