Thursday’s TNT NBA doubleheader was not much of a draw. In other news, ESPN scored a double-digit increase for a top ten college hoops clash, and CBS posted gains for two of its three college basketball games last weekend.
Low Marks For NBA on TNT
- Thursday’s Bulls/Lakers NBA regular season game scored 1.2 million viewers on TNT, down 7% from the same matchup last year (1.24M to 1.15M) and down 28% from Clippers/Warriors in 2014 (1.6M). The 0.8 final rating was flat. Earlier in the night, Knicks/Raptors scored 1.0 million — up 37% from Nuggets/Grizzlies last year (733K) but down 27% from Cavaliers/Knicks in ’14 (1.4M). The 0.7 rating increased 40% from last year’s 0.5. Despite the increase, the Raptors’ win earned the fourth-smallest audience of the season (excluding NBA TV). (via Programming Insider)
Mixed Numbers For Thursday CBB on ESPN
- Iowa/Maryland college basketball scored 1.5 million viewers on ESPN Thursday night, up 27% from Maryland/Ohio State last year (1.2M) and up 34% from Cincinnati/Louisville in 2014 (1.1M). Michigan State/Northeastern scored 807,000 later in the night, off 54% from Kentucky/Missouri last year (1.8M) and down 23% from Purdue/Michigan in ’14 (1.0M). (via ShowBuzz Daily)
Duke/N.C. State Tops Weekend Hoops Slate on Broadcast
- CBS scored a 1.4 final rating and 2.1 million viewers for Duke/N.C. State last Saturday, up 40% in ratings and 41% in viewership from Kansas/Texas last year (1.0, 1.5M). Bookending the network’s tripleheader, UCLA/Oregon had a 0.9 (+13%) and 1.3 million (+24%) later in the day and Georgetown/Connecticut a 0.8 and 1.3 million. On FOX, the postponed Providence/Villanova game scored a 0.6 and 905,000 Sunday — its the second-best college hoops audience, per Sports Business Daily. (via Sports Business Daily)
