Recent sports TV ratings news, including double-digit increases for Wednesday’s college basketball action on ESPN, numbers for NBA TV’s Wednesday doubleheader, and a decline for last week’s Bayou Classic on NBC.
- Wednesday’s Michigan State/Duke game drew a 2.0 U.S. rating and 3.002 million viewers on ESPN, up 25% in ratings and 28% in viewership from last year (DUKE/WISC: 1.6, 2.345 mil). Earlier the night, Purdue/Virginia Tech drew a 0.9 and 1.409 million, up 13% and 32%, respectively, from last year (ILL/CLEM: 0.8, 1.066 mil). (pifeedback.com)
- Also Wednesday, NBA TV drew a 0.2 U.S. rating and 355,000 viewers for Trail Blazers/Celtics, and a 0.2 and 366,000 for Spurs/Clippers. Those numbers are not too far shy of the 390,000 viewers Versus — in over 20 million more homes than NBA TV — drew for Blues/Blackhawks one night earlier. (pifeedback.com)
- NBC drew a 0.7 final rating and 1.033 million viewers for last Saturday’s Grambling/Southern Bayou Classic, down 13% in ratings compared to last year (0.8, viewership unavailable). (Sports Business Daily)
