After a strong run in the ratings, NBC hit a speed bump for its Premier League coverage last weekend.
Last Saturday’s Tottenham/Middlesbrough English Premier League match had a 0.6 final rating and 815,000 viewers on NBC, down a tick in ratings and 17% in viewership from Everton/Liverpool in 2015 (0.7, 979K). There was no comparable match in week 24 of last season, which consisted of weekday matches.
Spurs’ win was the least-watched EPL match on the NBC broadcast network since Tottenham/West Ham on November 19th (642K), snapping a streak of seven straight matches with at least 900,000 viewers — and four straight with at least one million.
Earlier in the day, Chelsea/Arsenal scored a 0.3 and 445,000 on NBCSN — flat in ratings but down 11% in viewership from Tottenham/Arsenal in 2015 (0.3, 502K) — and the Hull City/Liverpool match that followed had a 0.3 (-25%) and 493,000 (-21%). Crystal Palace/Sunderland brought up the rear with just 43,000 on CNBC.
The numbers were far stronger on Sunday, at least relative to past performance. Leicester City/Manchester United was the weekend’s top draw on cable with a 0.3 and 575,000 Sunday morning — down a tick in ratings but up 6% in viewership from West Ham/Manchester United in ’15 (0.4, 545K). Manchester City/Swansea had a 0.2 (flat) and 325,000 (+2%) earlier in the day.
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 2.7, Sports TV Ratings 2.7)
