Ratings Roundup: College Hoops, NBA on Nat'l TV, NHL on NBCSN

CBS scored a second-straight increase for its college basketball coverage last weekend. In other news, viewership fell for a Warriors game for the first time all season, while NBCSN scored its top NHL audience since Opening Night.

Last Saturday’s Notre Dame/Villanova college basketball game earned a 1.1 final rating and 1.6 million viewers on CBS, up 22% in ratings and 17% in viewership from Ohio State/Connecticut last year (0.9, 1.3M) but down 39% and 45%, respectively, from a higher-profile North Carolina/Kentucky matchup in 2014 (1.8, 2.8M). Both college basketball games on CBS this season have increased over last year. Over on FOX, Utah/Xavier scored a 0.4 and 552,000 later in the day — flat in ratings and down 18% in viewership from Cincinnati/Xavier last year (0.4, 675K); there was no comparable window in 2014.

Knicks/Warriors drew 1.4 million viewers on the NBA on TNT Thursday night, down 7% from Rockets/Lakers last year (1.5M) and down 30% from Thunder/Warriors in 2014 (2.0M). Ratings were not immediately available. It was the least-watched Golden State game of the season on ESPN or TNT and the first such game to decline. Bulls/Bucks had just 922,000 earlier in the night (-62%). Both games faced tougher Thursday Night Football competition than last year. On Wednesday, ESPN had a 0.7 (-22%) and 995,000 (-22%) for Pacers/Heat and a 0.9 (-31%) and 1.4 million (-29%) for Celtics/Spurs.

Bruins/Penguins had a 0.4 final rating and 705,000 viewers on the latest edition of NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Rivalry, up 62% from Bruins/Canadiens last year, ratings for which were unavailable (436K), and up a tick and 55% respectively from Maple Leafs/Red Wings in 2014 (0.3, 455K). It was the most-watched NHL game since Opening Night. In other action, Flyers/Avalanche had 292,000 in Wednesday’s nightcap (+23%) and Blackhawks/Rangers scored 214,000 on Tuesday (-49%).

(Numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 12/16, 12/14, 12/13; Programming Insider 12/15)