A top five team gave ESPN a big boost Thursday night. In other news, the season’s final LPGA Tour major declined on NBC, and the end of the United States’ winless run in the World Cup of Hockey attracted few viewers.
Clemson/GT Up Big From Last Year, Down Big From 2014
- Thursday’s Clemson/Georgia Tech college football game earned a 1.1 final rating and 1.8 million viewers on ESPN, up 46% in viewership from Cincinnati/Memphis last year, ratings for which were unavailable (1.2M). Compared to Auburn/Kansas State in 2014, ratings dropped 52% and viewership 53% from a 2.3 and 3.8 million. (via Programming Insider 9/23)
Final LPGA Major Dips on NBC
- Final round coverage of the LPGA Tour Evian Masters, the season’s final major, had 644,000 viewers on NBC last Sunday — down 8% from last year (696K) and down 1% from 2014 (648K). The 0.5 final rating was even with each of the past three years. For the season, Sunday’s final round trailed three of the season’s previous four majors, ranking behind the U.S. Women’s Open (1.3M), Women’s PGA Championship (829K) and Women’s British Open (858K), none of which had to contend with the NFL. (via Sports Business Daily 9/23)
USA’s World Cup Exit Low on ESPN2
- The Czech Republic/United States World Cup of Hockey match earned 148,000 viewers on ESPN2 Thursday night, well below Team USA’s previous matches against Canada (766K) and Europe (360K). The USA had already been eliminated from the tournament entering the game and concluded the tournament winless. (via Sports TV Ratings 9/23)
