Facing the World Series, ESPN saw big declines for a Friday night NBA doubleheader. In other news, viewership also fell for NBA TV’s Tuesday doubleheader, and the season’s first release of the College Football Playoff rankings had a slight increase.
Despite Cavaliers, Warriors, Big Declines For NBA Friday on ESPN
- Friday’s Warriors/Rockets NBA regular season game earned a 1.2 final rating and 1.8 million viewers on ESPN, down 33% in ratings and 37% in viewership from Clippers/Lakers last year (1.8, 2.9M) and down 20% and 17%, respectively, from Spurs/Lakers in 2013 (1.5, 2.2M). The early Heat/Cavaliers game also scored 1.8 million, down 54% from Cavaliers/Bulls last year (3.9M) and down 27% from Heat/Nets in 2013 (2.5M). Unlike in previous years, both games faced World Series competition. (via TV Media Insights)
NBA TV’s Fan Night Debuts Down
- The Hawks/Heat NBA Fan Night game drew 403,000 viewers on NBA TV Tuesday night, down 35% from Rockets/Heat last year (616K) but up 27% from Lakers/Mavericks in 2013 (316K). Nuggets/Lakers drew 412,000 viewers later in the night, down 51% from Cavaliers/Blazers last year (836K); there was no comparable window in 2013 (via ShowBuzz Daily)
CFP Rankings Release Up
- ESPN drew 1.4 million viewers for Tuesday’s hour-long debut of the College Football Playoff rankings, down 2% from last year, when the show lasted 30 minutes (1.42M to 1.39M). The first half-hour, during which the rankings were released, had 1.5 million — up from 3% from last year. (ESPN)
