Big Ten

Wednesday’s Golden Knights-Avalanche NHL Western Conference Final Game 1 averaged 2.1 million viewers on ESPN, up 45% from Oilers-Stars last year (1.46M) and the most-watched Game 1 of a West Final since 2018, when Golden Knights-Jets aired on NBC in primetime (2.37M per Nielsen/Adobe Analytics). Read more

In the network’s first WNBA telecast since 2002, NBC averaged 1.24 million viewers for last Saturday’s Aces-Dream WNBA regular season game across Nielsen (0.7 rating, 1.14M viewers) and Adobe Analytics. Read more

Last weekend’s Preakness Stakes averaged a combined 5.5 million viewers on NBC across Nielsen (2.7 rating, 5.32M viewers) and Adobe Analytics, marking the largest audience for the race since 2021. That is despite the absence of the Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo and the race being relocated from its usual home of Pimilico Park in Baltimore to Laurel, MD. Read more

The NASCAR All-Star Race from Dover (Del.) averaged a 1.0 rating and 1.80 million viewers on FS1 Sunday afternoon, per the Nielsen panel-only data that NASCAR will be reporting going forward. Using the “Big Data + Panel” methodology that remains the official Nielsen currency, the race had a 1.0 and 1.68 million. Read more

The final NASCAR Cup Series points race on Fox Sports this season — Watkins Glen last Sunday — averaged a 1.1 rating and 1.93 million viewers, the least-watched race of the season thus far. (Bristol had 1.945 million last month.) Viewership declined 17% from last year’s equivalent Kansas race (2.32M). Read more

NASCAR Cup Series racing from Texas averaged a 1.3 rating and 2.29 million viewers on FS1 last weekend, down a tick and 11% respectively from last year (1.4, 2.56M). Read more

Tuesday’s Lakers-Thunder second round NBA playoff Game 1 averaged 6.8 million viewers on NBC across Nielsen (5.3M) and Adobe Analytics, up a third from a Nielsen-only 5.1 million for Warriors-Timberwolves on TNT an truTV last year. Read more