ESPN’s 30 For 30 documentary on the 1985 Bears put up solid numbers. In other news, NBCSN scored a slight increase for Red Wings/Lightning on Wednesday, and the Australian Open men’s final could not measure up to last year.
Solid Numbers For ’85 Bears Doc
- The debut of ESPN’s 30 For 30 documentary The ’85 Bears had a 1.0 final rating and 1.4 million viewers Thursday night, up 150% in ratings and 133% in viewership from last year’s February premiere, Of Miracles and Men opposite the Grammy Awards (0.4, 611K). Compared to the Four Falls of Buffalo in December, ratings held steady but viewership dropped 4% from 1.5 million. 30 For 30 was the top sports-related program of the night. (via Programming Insider)
Slight Gain For Red Wings/Lightning on NBCSN
- Wednesday’s Red Wings/Lightning NHL regular season game scored 448,000 viewers on NBCSN, up a fraction of a percent from Bruins/Rangers last year (447K) but down 34% from a Rangers/Islanders Stadium Series game in 2014 (682K). On Thursday, Islanders/Rangers scored 251,000 (+12%) and Ducks/Kings 238,000. Rounding out the week’s action, Panthers/Capitals also had 238,000 — up 15% from Blackhawks/Wild last year (207K) but down 20% from Capitals/Sabres in ’14 (296K). (via ShowBuzz Daily [1], [2], [3])
Djokovic’s Aussie Open Win Down on ESPN
- Last Sunday’s Novak Djokovic/Andy Murray Australian Open men’s final scored 527,000 viewers on ESPN, off 5% from the same matchup last year (557K) and down 21% from Stanislas Wawrinka/Rafael Nadal in 2014 (670K). The match trailed the Angelique Kerber/Serena Williams women’s final the previous morning (679K). (ESPN)
