Kawhi Leonard’s return to Toronto did not move the ratings needle for ESPN. Also: an upset of the nation’s #1 team boosted the Jimmy V Classic; the College Football Playoff Selection Show hit a new low; miscellaneous numbers for other events.
Kawhi’s return to Toronto down big from Raptors game last year
Wednesday’s Clippers-Raptors NBA regular season game, which marked Clippers F Kawhi Leonard’s return to Toronto, averaged a 0.8 rating and 1.16 million viewers on ESPN — down 24% in ratings and 29% in viewership from Sixers-Raptors last year (1.1, 1.64M) and down 21% and 26% respectively from 2017 (Warriors-Hornets: 1.0, 1.56M).
Viewership has declined for six of the nine Clipper games on ESPN or TNT that can be compared to last season.
The Pelicans-Bucks nightcap drew a 0.7 and 1.06 million, down 42% from last year (Spurs-Lakers: 1.2, 1.82M), but flat and up 1% respectively from 2017 (T’Wolves-Clippers: 0.7, 1.05M).
On TNT Thursday, Sixers-Celtics had a 0.65 (+16%) and 1.04 million (+21%) — the network’s first Thursday game with at least one million viewers since Opening Week. It snapped a streak of nine straight declines on the night. Blazers-Nuggets had a 0.5 (-7%) and 829,000 (-17%).
TTU-Louisville hits high for Jimmy V Classic
Texas Tech’s upset of #1 Louisville in the Jimmy V Classic averaged a 0.65 rating and 976,000 viewers on ESPN Tuesday night, marking the highest rating and largest audience for the event since 2016 (Florida-Duke: 0.9, 1.42M).
Ratings increased 41% and viewership 43% from the same window last year (Oklahoma-Notre Dame: 0.46, 683K) and 10% and 9% respectively from 2017 (Villanova-Gonzaga: 0.6, 897K).
Later in the night, Indiana-UConn averaged a 0.52 (+6%) and 787,000 (+7%).
CFP Selection Show hits low
Last Sunday’s release of the final College Football Playoff rankings averaged 954,000 viewers on ESPN, down 32% from last year (1.40M), down 41% from 2017 (1.63M), and the smallest audience for the Selection Show since the CFP debuted in 2014-15. The first edition in 2014 averaged 2.2 million.
The steep decline was a marked reversal from the season-long trend. ESPN averaged 1.28 million for its Tuesday night rankings shows (+6%).
Miscellaneous: ND-UConn, CFB Awards, Liga MX
Last Sunday’s Notre Dame-UConn women’s college basketball game averaged 284,000 viewers on ESPN, down 58% from the same matchup last year (670K). Notre Dame was unranked; the teams were #2 and #3 last year. … Thursday’s College Football Awards drew a 0.35 rating and 523,000 viewers (-18%) on ESPN, the smallest audience for the event since at least 2012. … The second leg of the Club América-Monarcas Liga MX semifinal had 1.3 million viewers on TUDN last Sunday, the fourth-largest audience in network history. Viewership fell 24% from Club América-UNAM last year, which was simulcast on Univision and TUDN (1.7M),
[Nielsen estimates from Programming Insider 12.11, 12.12, 12.13, ShowBuzz Daily 12.10, Univision]
