It was not much of a game, but Monday’s NBA Finals rematch did well for TNT. In other news, ESPN scored big gains for college hoops on Monday night, and Fox Sports 1 neared a viewership record for mixed martial arts.
Big Gains For Warriors/Cavaliers Blowout
- Monday’s Warriors/Cavaliers NBA regular season game had 3.6 million viewers on TNT, up 103% from Bulls/Cavaliers last year (1.8M), up 174% from Blazers/Rockets in 2014 (1.3M), and the most-watched non-Christmas game this season. Including Christmas, it ranks fourth. Rockets/Clippers had 1.6 million in the nightcap, up 31% from Lakers/Suns last year (1.2M) and up 1% from Pacers/Warriors in ’14 (1.6M). Finally, ESPN scored 754,000 for Pelicans/Grizzlies — down 9% from Pistons/Hawks last year (830K), down 24% from Nets/Knicks in ’14 (986K), and a season-low (excluding NBA TV). (via ShowBuzz Daily)
College Hoops Up Big Despite NBA Competition
- The Syracuse/Duke college basketball game scored 1.7 million viewers on ESPN Monday night, up 38% from Pittsburgh/Duke last year (1.2M) and up 54% from North Carolina/Virginia in 2014 (1.1M). Later in the night, Oklahoma/Iowa State scored 1.6 million — up 61% from Oklahoma/Kansas last year (1.0M) and up 46% from Baylor/Kansas in 2014 (1.1M). The increases came despite tougher competition from the above mentioned NBA games. (via ShowBuzz Daily)
FS1 Scores Second-Largest MMA Audience
- UFC Fight Night 81, featuring the T.J. Dillashaw/Dominick Cruz bout, had a 1.3 final rating and 2.3 million viewers on Fox Sports 1 — the second-largest audience ever for mixed martial arts on the network. Last January’s UFC Fight Night 59, which featured Conor McGregor, holds the top spot with 2.8 million. Preliminary bouts earlier in the night scored a 1.0 and 1.8 million, the network’s largest audience for prelims prior to a non-PPV event. (via Programming Insider)
