The opening round of the U.S. Open bounced back from last year’s months-delayed edition. Plus: Nets-Bucks delivered an NBA playoff-high on ESPN, while Lightning-Islanders scored the NHL’s top audience outside of NBC or NBCSN in seven years.
U.S. Open opening round up in return to June, West Coast
Opening round coverage of the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines averaged 1.52 million viewers over nine hours on NBC and Golf Channel, up 21% from last year’s months-delayed tournament at Winged Foot (N.Y.), but down 24% from 2019 at Pebble Beach, both the previous West Coast edition and the previous one to take place as scheduled in June (1.99M). The 2019 opening round, which aired on FOX and FS1 and featured Tiger Woods in primetime, is the only one in the past five years with a larger audience.
Primetime coverage on the NBC broadcast network averaged 2.37 million, up 21% from the network’s afternoon coverage last year (1.96M). Golf Channel turned in 1.24 million (+47%).
Penultimate Nets-Bucks game is ESPN’s most-watched of playoffs
Thursday’s Nets-Bucks NBA second round Game 6 averaged 4.45 million viewers on ESPN, up 78% from Lakers-Rockets Game 4 in the “bubble” last year — which averaged 2.50 million opposite the NFL Kickoff Game — and down 1% from Raptors-Sixers in 2019 (4.48M).
Milwaukee’s series-tying win ranks as the most-watched game of the playoffs on ESPN and the second-most watched on cable. Game 5 of the series drew 4.58 million on TNT Tuesday. Including the Play-in Tournament, it ranks second among ESPN games and third for the postseason on cable.
Game 6 was Thursday’s top television program in all relevant demographics.
Bolts-Isles top NHL game outside of NBC, NBCSN, since 2014
Thursday’s Lightning-Islanders NHL semifinal Game 3 averaged 1.24 million viewers on USA Network, the largest audience for a Stanley Cup playoff game outside of NBC or NBCSN since 2014 on CNBC (Blackhawks-Wild Game 6: 1.82M). Keep in mind it was just the second third round game on an ‘overflow’ network since NBC acquired NHL rights. Viewership increased 26% from the previous such game — last year’s Lightning-Islanders Eastern Conference Final Game 3 on USA, which drew 986,000 on a Friday night in September.
In other NHL action, Game 1 of the series drew 1.70 million on NBC last Sunday afternoon, up 78% from last year’s opener between the same teams, which aired on NBCSN (958K). As previously noted, Game 2 drew 1.32 million on NBCSN Tuesday (+16%).
Going back to the second round, the June 9 Islanders-Bruins Game 6 averaged 1.82 million when adding local NBC simulcasts in New York and Boston to the national NBCSN audience of 1.48 million. That ranks as the fourth-largest audience of the postseason, with the long-eliminated Bruins in each of the top four.
[Nielsen estimates from NBC Sports, ESPN, John Ourand/Twitter 6.18]
