The final of The Basketball Tournament was the least-watched since ESPN began airing the event. Plus: UFC 251 prelims increased on ESPN; the PGA Tour scored a big jump over last year; a mixed weekend for auto racing.
TBT final hits viewer low
Tuesday’s championship of The Basketball Tournament (Golden Eagles-Sideline Cancer) averaged 258,000 viewers on ESPN, the smallest audience for the title game since it began airing on ESPN in 2015. Viewership fell a third from last year (385K) and 2% from 2018 (263K).
Last Sunday’s Sideline Cancer-Overseas Elite semifinal averaged a 0.19 rating and 342,000 viewers, ranking as the top game of the tournament. Averages for the full tournament were not immediately available.
UFC 251 prelims up on ESPN
Last Saturday’s UFC 251 prelims averaged a 0.53 rating and 809,000 viewers on ESPN, up 15% in ratings and 4% in viewership from the previous PPV prelims last month (0.46, 775K). Compared to UFC 249 prelims in May — the first UFC event post-hiatus — ratings fell 23% (from 0.7) and viewership 30% (from 1.15M).
According to The Athletic, the main event generated approximately 1.3 million buys — the most since UFC 229 in October 2018.
PGA Tour’s extra Muirfield event up big
Tape-delayed final round coverage of the PGA Tour at Muirfield Village (Ohio) averaged a 1.65 rating and 2.52 million viewers on CBS Sunday, up 60% in ratings and 56% in viewership from the John Deere Classic on the same weekend last year (1.0, 1.62M).
The Muirfield tournament was a late addition to the schedule to replace this year’s John Deere Classic, which was canceled. The final round was moved up to the morning due to rain, averaging 273,000 on Golf Channel.
Third round coverage averaged a 1.3 (+44%) and 2.01 million (+57%) on CBS Saturday. Lead-in coverage on Golf Channel averaged a 0.53 (+96%) and 820,000 (+127%).
IndyCar and NHRA down, F1 up, last weekend
Race two of the IndyCar Series Road America doubleheader averaged a 0.7 rating and 1.04 million viewers on the NBC broadcast network last Sunday, down a tick in ratings and 5% in viewership from last year (0.8, 1.10M). Race one averaged 295,000 viewers on NBCSN the previous evening, down 8% from 2018, the last time the network aired a race at the track (322K).
Airing directly opposite Sunday’s IndyCar race, the NHRA returned from hiatus with a 0.46 and 689,000 on FOX — down from the first FOX telecast last season (0.6, 902K).
Earlier Sunday, the F1 Styrian Grand Prix (Austria) averaged a 0.39 and 632,000 on ESPN — about even in ratings and up 5% in viewership from the British Grand Prix on ESPN2 the same weekend last year (0.40, 604K). Ratings and viewership fell from the previous week’s season opener, which took place at the same track (0.48, 752K).
In other action, the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Kentucky averaged a 0.43 (+13%) and 681,000 (+19%) on FS1 last Friday. An additional race averaged a 0.33 an 514,000 the previous night. Both races trailed Saturday’s Truck Series race at the track (0.42, 699K).
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 7.14 a, b, c, 7.15; The Athletic 7.13]
