Temple-UCF scored a big increase in ratings on ESPN; Thursday’s NBA doubleheader sank on TNT; three prominent NBA teams have started the season on a lower note.
Big Jump For Temple-UCF
Thursday’s Temple-UCF college football game drew a 0.8 rating and 1.19 million viewers on ESPN, up 53% in ratings and 57% in viewership from last year (Navy-Temple: 0.51, 758K), but down 15% in the latter from 2016 (Oklahoma-Iowa State: 1.40M).
The Knights’ high-scoring win delivered the third-largest Thursday night audience of the season, behind Texas Tech-TCU last month (1.23M) and Northwestern-Purdue on opening night (1.74M).
In other action, ESPN2 drew 482,000 viewers for Miami (Ohio)-Buffalo on Tuesday night (+75%) and 395,000 for Ball State-Toledo on Wednesday (+83%). The release of the season’s first College Football Playoff rankings delivered 927,000 on ESPN Tuesday (-17%).
Thursday NBA Down From Past Years’ Glamour Matchups
Bucks-Celtics scored a 0.9 rating and 1.28 million viewers on the NBA on TNT Tuesday night, down 30% in ratings and 36% in viewership from last year (Warriors-Spurs: 1.3, 2.00M) and down 36% and 44% respectively from 2016 (Celtics-Cavs: 1.35, 2.27M).
The Pelicans-Trail Blazers nightcap had a 0.7 and 1.08 million, down 42% in ratings and 40% in viewership from last year (Lakers-Blazers: 1.2, 1.79M) and down 68% and 71% respectively from Thunder-Warriors in ’16, the first matchup between Kevin Durant and his former team (2.2, 3.75M).
The games faced tougher Thursday Night Football competition than the previous two years. The competing 49ers-Raiders game aired on both FOX and NFL Network, while the prior TNF games aired on NFL Network alone.
Softer Start For Warriors, At Least in Ratings
Golden State Warriors games have averaged a 6.90 rating on NBC Sports Bay Area through eight games, down 13% from last year, when the team got off to its best start ever on the network. The 6.9 is the highest average in the league.
The Warriors are not the only prominent team to open with a decline. Celtics games have averaged a 2.88 rating on NBC Sports Boston, down 22% from last year, with the caveat that the first two weeks of the season coincided with the Red Sox’ World Series run.
The Sixers have averaged a 2.67 on NBC Sports Philadelphia, off 1% from last year.
[Numbers from Nielsen via Programming Insider 11.2; NBC Sports]
