The NHL hit a season-high on cable last weekend; NBCSN aired its most-watched IndyCar opener; the EPL neared a U.S. TV high; the AAF posted a big drop in its second TNT appearance.
Bruins-Penguins hits NHL season-high on cable
Last Sunday’s Bruins-Penguins NHL regular season game scored a 0.42 rating and 715,000 viewers on NBCSN, up 68% in ratings and 67% in viewership from last year (Stars-Penguins: 0.25, 427K), and up 56% and 61% respectively from 2017 (Rangers-Red Wings: 0.27, 443K).
Pittsburgh’s win, which had 733,000 viewers with streaming included, was the most-watched NHL regular season game on cable since opening night of last season (Blues-Penguins: 872K). The previous high was 697,000 for Penguins-Capitals in December. Pittsburgh has played in the top three games on NBCSN this season.
In other action, Capitals-Penguins drew 272,000 viewers on Tuesday night (-8%), Sharks-Wild had 344,000 on Monday, Kings-Ducks had 263,000 in Sunday’s nightcap, and Blue Jackets-Penguins had 229,000 last Thursday.
NBCSN has most-watched IndyCar opener
NBCSN scored a 0.32 rating and 495,000 viewers for last Sunday’s IndyCar season opener from St. Petersburg, down 60% in ratings and 57% in viewership from last year on ABC (0.8, 1.14M), but up 23% and 28% respectively from 2013, the last time the race aired on NBCSN (0.26, 388K).
Josef Newgarden‘s win, which had 502,000 viewers with streaming included, ranks as the network’s most-watched IndyCar season debut (dates back to 2009). Compared to last year’s first race on NBCSN, Phoenix in April, viewership surged 96% from 253,000.
Man U-Arsenal nears U.S. EPL high
The NBC broadcast network earned a 0.8 rating and 1.28 million viewers for last Sunday’s Manchester United-Arsenal English Premier League match, marking the second-largest Premier League audience since Chelsea-Manchester City in January 2015 (1.35M). Only last April’s Manchester Derby (1.35M) had a larger audience.
Including streaming viewership and the Spanish-language audience on Telemundo, the match had 1.68 million viewers — behind the aforementioned Manchester Derby (1.72M) as the most-watched live EPL match ever on U.S. television.
AAF posts big drop in second TNT appearance
Last Saturday’s Orlando-Birmingham Alliance of American Football game had a 0.31 rating and 457,000 viewers on TNT, down 52% in ratings and 55% in viewership from the network’s previous AAF telecast, Salt Lake-Birmingham in week two (0.6, 1.02M).
On Sunday night, San Antonio-Arizona had a 0.19 and 300,000 on NFL Network — down 30% and 33% respectively from the same window last week (Atlanta-Arizona: 0.27, 450K). It ranks as the least-watched AAF game on a Nielsen-rated network.
[Numbers from NBC Sports PR 3.12, Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 3.12]
