Overnight ratings increased double-digits for the Baylor-Notre Dame Women’s NCAA Tournament final. Also: Texas Open overnights were the highest in at least a decade; a move from FOX to FS1 sank NASCAR at Bristol; the NBA on ABC had a quiet season finale.
Baylor-Notre Dame overnights up double-digits
Sunday’s Baylor-Notre Dame Women’s NCAA Tournament national championship earned a 2.2 overnight rating on ESPN, up 11% from Notre Dame-Mississippi State last year (2.0), but down 8% from South Carolina-Mississippi State in 2017 (2.4).
The Bears’ win, which peaked at a 3.4, is tied for sixth out of the last ten title games (since 2009). The last time Baylor and Notre Dame met in the championship, 2012, the game had a 2.6. Keep in mind that game aired on a Tuesday night.
Hartford-New Haven led all markets with a 6.8 rating, followed by New Orleans (4.7) and Portland (4.5). In Baylor’s home markets of Austin, Tex., and Dallas, the game had ratings of 4.4 and 3.8, respectively. In Notre Dame’s home markets of Indianapolis and Chicago, the game had ratings of 4.1 and 1.6.
Texas Open hits high in return to pre-Masters slot
Final round coverage of the PGA Tour Texas Open delivered a 2.2 overnight rating on NBC Sunday afternoon, up 29% from last year (1.7), up 47% from 2017 (1.5), and the highest overnight for the tournament since it moved to the spring in 2009. This year marked the first time since 2013 that the tournament has taken place the week prior to the Masters. The 2013 tournament had a similar 2.1 for final round coverage.
Third round action on Saturday drew a 1.6 overnight, up a third from last year (1.2) and up 45% from 2017 (1.1).
NASCAR Bristol down in move from FOX to FS1
NASCAR Cup Series racing from Bristol (Tenn.) earned a 1.7 overnight rating on FS1 Sunday afternoon, down 47% from the last time the race was run as scheduled, 2016 on FOX (3.2). Versus the second FS1 race of last season, Texas, overnights increased 1% (1.70 to 1.68). Keep in mind last year’s Texas race aired opposite the final round of the Masters.
Quiet finale for NBA on ABC
ABC earned a 1.5 overnight rating for Sunday’s Thunder-Timberwolves NBA regular season game, down 25% from the network’s season finale last season (Thunder-Rockets: 2.0), but up a tick from its 2017 finale (Clippers-Spurs: 1.4). Those games aired on ABC’s NBA Saturday Primetime. The last time ABC aired a Sunday game on the final weekend of the season — 2014 — Thunder-Pacers had a 2.3.
[Numbers from ESPN PR, Nielsen via Sports Business Daily 4.8]
