Viewership hit lows for Thursday’s bowl games; the Premier League hit a weekday high on NBCSN; miscellaneous numbers for the Professional Fighters League, PTI and NFL pregame shows.
Gator, Birmingham bowls hit lows; Sun Bowl hits high
Thursday’s Tennessee-Indiana Gator Bowl averaged 4.32 million viewers on ESPN, down 16% from last year (Texas A&M-NC State: 5.14M), down 2% from two years ago (Mississippi State-Louisville: 4.42M), and a three-year low (2016 Georgia Tech-Kentucky: 2.65M). Ratings were not immediately available.
Earlier in the day, the Birmingham Bowl (Cincinnati-Boston College) averaged its smallest audience ever (1.52M, -16%). That figure does not include the game’s conclusion on ESPNEWS.
In other action, the Outback Bowl (Auburn-Minnesota) averaged 3.99 million on New Year’s Day — up 22% from last year (Iowa-Mississippi State: 3.26M) but down 21% from 2018 (South Carolina-Michigan: 5.05M), both of which aired on ESPN2.
The previous day’s Sun Bowl (Arizona State-Florida State) averaged a 2.1 rating (+17%) and 3.17 million viewers (+21%) on CBS, marking the highest rated and most-watched edition of the game since 2015 (Washington State-Miami: 2.9, 4.70M).
Man U-Arsenal hits weekday high on NBCSN
Wednesday’s Manchester United-Arsenal English Premier League match averaged 721,000 viewers on NBCSN, the network’s largest weekday Premier League audience ever. Earlier in the day, Everton-Manchester City averaged 582,000 — up 100% from the same window last year (Tottenham-Cardiff: 290K) and up 9% from 2017 (Manchester United-Everton: 533K).
Overall, NBCSN averaged 492,000 viewers for its four New Year’s Day matches, its highest EPL average on the holiday.
Miscellaneous: PFL, PTI, NFL pregame shows
Tuesday’s Professional Fighters League championship averaged 361,000 viewers on ESPN2, up 77% from last year’s inaugural edition, which aired on NBCSN (204K). … ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption averaged 758,000 viewers in 2019, up 3% from last year (736K). … Fox NFL Sunday averaged 5.00 million viewers during the regular season (+6%), a four-year high. Viewership also increased for Fox NFL Kickoff (1.35M, +3%), NBC’s Football Night in America (7.1M, +2%), and ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown (1.42M, +13%) and Sunday NFL Countdown (1.33M, +8%).
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 1.2, 1.3 a, b; CBS Sports PR, NBC Sports PR/Twitter 1.3; ESPN PR 1.3; Fox Sports PR 12.31, NBC Sports PR 12.30]
