ESPN suffered big declines for a pair of low-wattage NBA games Wednesday night. In other news, Formula 1 racing from Brazil could not match last year’s taped coverage on NBC, and the UFC 193 prelims hit a near-viewership high on Fox Sports 1.
Low-Key NBA Doubleheader Down Big on ESPN
- Wednesday’s Bulls/Suns NBA regular season game scored a 1.0 final rating and 1.5 million viewers on ESPN, down 33% in ratings and 34% in viewership from Lakers/Rockets last year (1.5, 2.3M) and down 33% and 27%, respectively, from Rockets/Mavericks in 2013 (1.5, 2.1M). Earlier in the night, Pelicans/Thunder scored 1.4 million — down 47% from Spurs/Cavaliers last year (2.6M) and down 22% from Pacers/Knicks in 2013 (1.8M). (via TV Media Insights)
F1 From Brazil Trails Last Year
- Formula 1 racing from Brazil earned 493,000 viewers on NBCSN Sunday morning, down 22% from taped coverage on the NBC broadcast network last year (630K). Viewership for last year’s live coverage on CNBC was not available. (via ShowBuzz Daily)
UFC 193 Prelims Nears FS1 High
- Coverage of the UFC 193 prelims, which aired prior to the Holly Holm/Ronda Rousey pay-per-view main event, drew a 0.7 final rating and 1.4 million viewers on Fox Sports 1 Saturday night — the network’s third-largest audience for prelims leading into a PPV fight. Compared to the UFC 190 prelims in August, which led into Rousey’s fight against Bethe Correia, ratings dropped a tick (0.8 to 0.7) and viewership increased 5% (1.32M to 1.39M). (via TV Media Insights)
