TV ratings for sports other than hockey

[Kirk Van Houten]

Grey Cup numbers

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

F1 Las Vegas GP debuts with 1.3 million despite timeslot

Airing in the overnight hours and on cable, the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix still delivered a seven-figure audience in its debut.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

Despite starting just before 1 AM ET Sunday morning, the inaugural Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix averaged a 0.7 rating and 1.31 million viewers on ESPN — the largest F1 audience since the Sunday afternoon Canadian Grand Prix on ABC in June (1.76M). Viewership surpassed the United States Grand Prix last month, which aired in a Sunday afternoon window on ABC but opposite NFL games (1.17M). Not surprisingly, Las Vegas was no match for the Miami Grand Prix — which averaged 1.96 million on ABC in May and debuted a year earlier with 2.58 million.

Las Vegas led all markets for the race with a 7.4 rating, followed by Los Angeles (1.5), Tulsa (1.3), Seattle (1.2) and Phoenix (1.1). The top Eastern time zone market was Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C., with a 0.9.

F1 is now averaging 1.12 million viewers for the season, still shy of last year’s record audience of 1.21 million, but the second-highest F1 average on record. Viewership is up 18% from 2021 (949K).

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Nearly 29 million for Eagles-Chiefs, highest for MNF since 1996

Eagles-Chiefs averaged 28.96 million viewers on Monday Night Football across ABC (15.55M), ESPN (11.49M) and the Peyton and Eli “Manningcast” on ESPN2 (1.92M), marking the largest audience for a Monday night regular season game since Packers-Cowboys in November 1996 (31.45M) and sixth-largest dating back to the 1991 season. In addition to the MNF high, the Eagles’ win delivered the largest NFL audience of the season. The previous Nielsen-measured high was 27.1 million for the Week 9 national window on FOX. (Including Adobe Analytics, which measures NBC’s streaming viewership, the previous high was 27.5 million for the Lions-Chiefs Kickoff Game.) Going back further, the game delivered the fourth-largest non-holiday NFL regular season audience in the past nine years — behind last year’s Week 10 national window (mostly Cowboys-Packers: 29.17M), the Week 12 national window in 2019 (29.47M) and the Week 8 national window in 2015 (Seahawks-Cowboys: 29.39M).

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Small networks hit highs on quiet college football weekend

For just the second time since week zero — but the second time in four weeks — no college football game managed to reach six million viewers. Georgia-Tennessee was the top game of week twelve with a 3.1 rating and 5.73 million viewers on CBS, the SEC on CBS has now taken top honors in three of the past four weeks. Michigan-Maryland averaged a 3.0 and 5.43 million on FOX “Big Noon Saturday,” placing a middle-of-the-road sixth out of the 12 “Big Noon” windows this season. ABC swept the rest of the top five, with Washington-Oregon State ranking third with a 2.5 and 4.73 million on Saturday Night Football the Huskies’ win was easily the top primetime game, topping Texas-Iowa State on FOX (1.4, 2.47M) and Nebraska-Wisconsin on NBC (1.3, 2.45M).

In a fairly uneventful week for the big networks, Big Ten Network came away with a viewership record for Ohio State-Minnesota — the most-watched program in network history with a 1.0 and 2.02 million. (Keep in mind BTN has only been Nielsen-rated for four years). Viewership soared 135% from Penn State-Rutgers last year (856K). The CW also hit a viewership record, scoring a 0.7 and 1.33 million for South Alabama-Florida State — the most-watched game in the network’s inaugural season of college football.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Higher than Raiders @ Cowboys in 2021 lower than Giants @ Cowboys in 2022.

Over 41 million for Cowboys' rout of Washington, just shy of record

The NFL continues to give thanks for out-of-home viewing as the Cowboys' rout of Washington finished just shy of a Thanksgiving record.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

In other Thanksgiving Day action, 49ers-Seahawks averaged 26.9 million viewers across all NBC platforms (25.3 million per Nielsen fast-nationals and 1.6 million per Adobe Analytics) — up from Patriots-Vikings last year (26.0M) and the second-largest audience for a primetime game on Thanksgiving. Bears-Packers holds the top spot with 27.8 million in 2015.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Record for the early Thanksgiving game



The NHL should try to get sometime an NFL lead in lol

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Out-of-home viewing responsible for NFL's Thanksgiving feast

Out-of-home viewing may be out-of-sight and out-of-mind, but on Thanksgiving Day it played an outsized role in the NFL's viewership bonanza.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

Out-of-home viewing may be out-of-sight and out-of-mind, but on Thanksgiving Day it played an outsized role in the NFL’s viewership bonanza. Of the 41.76 million viewers watching Commanders-Cowboys on CBS Thanksgiving Day — the second-largest regular season NFL audience on record — a whopping 17.25 million were doing so out-of-home, or 41%. That exceeds last year’s out-of-home lift of 39% for Giants-Cowboys. Take out the out-of-home audience and the game averaged 24.51 million, lower than any Cowboys Thanksgiving game in the 11 years prior to 2020, the year when Nielsen began including out-of-home viewing in its final nationals. Even Chargers-Cowboys in 2017, the year of the “NFL ratings panic,” averaged 26.28 million. Packers-Lions averaged 33.70 million viewers on FOX of which 10.37 million were watching out-of-home (31%). The in-home audience of 23.32 million trails every Lions Thanksgiving game in the decade prior to 2020. As for the nightcap 7.26 million were watching out-of-home (29%).

(It is also worth noting that out-of-home viewing is no guarantee of ratings records, as any observer of recent viewership trends for the World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Final and the national championships of college football and basketball can attest — though those events generally do not take place on national holidays.)

Something to see going foward.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

A low number for the Black Friday game this number was very close to the game in Germany between Miami and the Chiefs.

NFL's Black Friday debut is lowest rated Amazon game of season

The NFL's Black Friday debut hit a ratings low for Amazon Prime Video but still dominated the competition.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

For the season, Jets-Dolphins ranks as the eighth-least watched game on any Nielsen-rated network. The only games to average a smaller audience were the previously mentioned Panthers-Bears game, the four Sunday morning games from London on NFL Network, and two cable-only editions of Monday Night Football that aired opposite competing games on ABC.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Over 19 million for OSU-Michigan, second-largest audience for rivalry

Ohio State-Michigan averaged a 9.0 rating and 19.07 million viewers on FOX “Big Noon Saturday” over the weekend, marking the largest audience for the rivalry since their #1 vs. #2 meeting in 2006 (21.04M) and the second-largest on record. For the holiday weekend, it ranked fifth among sportscasts behind only the three NFL Thanksgiving Day games and Sunday’s NFL national window on CBS (mostly Bills-Eagles: 30.90M).

Placing a distant second for the week, the Alabama-Auburn Iron Bowl scored a 4.3 and 9.09 million on CBS — up 37% in ratings and 45% in viewership from last year (3.2, 6.27M). Despite the classic finish, the Tide’s win ranks as the third-lowest for the Iron Bowl in the past decade.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

https://twitter.com/ESPNPR/status/1729993474416545949?s=20

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Pac-12 bows out with its most-watched title game

Friday’s Washington-Oregon Pac-12 Championship Game averaged 9.2 million viewers on ABC, per Nielsen fast-nationals — up 47% from last year and the largest audience ever for the Pac-12 title game (dates back to 2011). No other Pac-12 title game had even managed seven million. (Final national figures will be available Tuesday.) It was the ninth college football game this season to average at least nine million viewers, nearly doubling the same point last season (five). Of the 18 most-watched games so far this season, four were Pac-12 conference games — matching the SEC as the most of any conference.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Alabama-UGA top SEC title game in five years

Playoff-bound Alabama's win over Georgia was the most-watched conference title game in five years. Plus, viewership for the other title games.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

Saturday’s Alabama-Georgia SEC Championship Game, the final edition of the “SEC on CBS,” averaged an 8.9 rating and 17.52 million viewers — marking the largest audience for any conference title game since the 2018 Alabama-Georgia SEC Championship. This year’s audience trails only that game and 2009 as the highest for any conference title game since at least 2000. For the season, the SEC title game trails only Ohio State-Michigan on FOX the prior week (9.0, 19.07M) as the highest rated and most-watched game on any network.

Ranking a distant second for the weekend, the Michigan-Iowa Big Ten Championship averaged a 5.1 and 10.02 million — down 7% in ratings and 6% in viewership from Michigan-Purdue a year ago (5.5, 10.70M) and the least-watched Big Ten title game since 2020, when Ohio State-Northwestern averaged a 4.2 and 8.25 million in a Noon ET timeslot. The Wolverines’ win still ranked among the top five games this season (fourth or fifth, depending on whether one includes the Adobe Analytics audience for Ohio State-Notre Dame).

The Washington-Oregon Pac-12 Championship placed third with a 4.9 and 9.25 million on ABC Friday night. As previously noted, that is the largest audience by far in Pac-12 Championship history (dates back to 2011). Rounding out the conference title game slate, Texas-Oklahoma State averaged a 4.4 and 7.89 million in the Big 12 Championship on ABC. The Florida State-Louisville ACC Championship was the least-watched of the “Power 5” title games with a 3.8 and 7.03 million.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Philly special: Eagles emerging as NFL's top TV draw

Sunday’s NFL national window on FOX (49ers-Eagles in most markets) averaged a 13.8 rating and 27.70 million viewers, marking the fifth-largest audience of the season and third-largest with Thanksgiving excluded. The Eagles have been featured in five of the seven most-watched windows this season — and each of the top five with Thanksgiving games excluded — all in just the past seven weeks. The telecast was the most-watched Week 13 NFL window since 2015, when FOX averaged 28.58 million for coverage featuring the then-undefeated Panthers against the Saints. The first half of the FOX doubleheader (mostly Lions-Saints) averaged a 6.4 (-13%) and 12.20 million (-11%).

In other Week 13 action, NBC averaged a 12.7 and 25.4 million for Chiefs-Packers on Sunday Night Football (23.57M per Nielsen, plus 1.86M per Adobe Analytics) — the largest audience ever for a Week 13 edition of SNF. The Nielsen-measured audience alone is the largest for any primetime game in Week 13 since a 1996 edition of Monday Night Football on ABC (Steelers-Dolphins: 23.86M). (Keep in mind the standard out-of-home caveat.)

Bengals-Jaguars delivered the series’ largest Week 13 audience since 2010 — 16.45 million viewers — across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. With ABC airing games every week of the season, MNF is now averaging 16.7 million viewers — up 29% from last year and the highest average at this point of a season since the last time ABC carried a full season of games in 2005 (16.8M).

Returning to the afternoon windows, CBS averaged a 7.7 and 14.38 million for singleheader coverage featuring Broncos-Texans in a plurality of markets — down 22% in ratings and 25% in viewership from last year on FOX (9.9, 19.17M). Even with the decline, CBS remains on pace for its most-watched NFL season since it resumed NFL coverage in 1998, averaging 19.42 million viewers.

 

[Reaser]

Don't see the complete list posted, so here's how the MLS Cup Playoffs did on FS1 this year (MLS Cup is on FOX so the FS1 playoff schedule is/has been completed):

The seven MLS Cup Playoff matches FS1 showed averaged 89k.

The seven viewership #'s: 81k, 77k, 69k, 113k, 86k, 76k, 122k.

Like a majority of other sports/games/matches/events, their matches are streamed. This is just the viewership on FS1.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Thursday Night Football streak of double-digit gains continues

Thursday Night Football delivered yet another double-digit increase in viewership over last season, continuing a season-long streak.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

The latest edition of NFL Thursday Night Football (Patriots-Steelers) averaged a 5.3 rating and 10.71 million viewers on Amazon Prime Video, marking a 30% increase in ratings and viewership from last year (Raiders-Rams: 4.1, 8.26M). All 12 editions of TNF this season have posted a double-digit increase in viewership.

TNF is now averaging 12.42 million viewers this season — not counting the Black Friday game — up 29% from the same point last year (9.62M). Viewership is up a more modest 17% in adults 18-34 (to 2.55M) and 21% in 18-49 (to 5.82M), resulting in a median age (48) that is slightly higher than a year ago (47). TNF is nonetheless skewing noticeably younger than the other NFL telecast windows (55) or primetime broadcast television (62). Notably, the increase in viewership among women this season — 37% to 4.03 million — outpaces the overall gains.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Cowboys-Eagles big, but well short of season-highs

The Eagles and Cowboys combined to deliver a massive audience Sunday night -- if well short of a season-high.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

The latest edition of NFL Sunday Night Football (Eagles-Cowboys) averaged a 12.7 rating and 26.3 million viewers on NBC (24.0 million per Nielsen fast-nationals, plus a streaming audience of 2.3 million per Adobe Analytics), up 57% from Dolphins-Chargers last year (16.7M) and the most-watched December edition of SNF since 2016 (Giants-Cowboys: 26.7M). Despite high expectations going in it was actually the least-watched window to feature the Eagles since Week 8, snapping a streak of four straight over the 27 million mark.

The audience was nonetheless massive. Eagles-Cowboys was the 15th NFL game this season to cross the 25 million mark, and the sixth to do so on NBC — the network’s most at this point of the season since reacquiring rights. (Keep in mind that is accounting for the Adobe Analytics streaming audience. On a Nielsen-only basis, no NBC games this season have cracked the 25 million mark.)

 

[Anisimovs AK]

Out-of-home viewing responsible for NFL's Thanksgiving feast

Out-of-home viewing may be out-of-sight and out-of-mind, but on Thanksgiving Day it played an outsized role in the NFL's viewership bonanza.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

Out-of-home viewing may be out-of-sight and out-of-mind, but on Thanksgiving Day it played an outsized role in the NFL’s viewership bonanza. Of the 41.76 million viewers watching Commanders-Cowboys on CBS Thanksgiving Day — the second-largest regular season NFL audience on record — a whopping 17.25 million were doing so out-of-home, or 41%. That exceeds last year’s out-of-home lift of 39% for Giants-Cowboys. Take out the out-of-home audience and the game averaged 24.51 million, lower than any Cowboys Thanksgiving game in the 11 years prior to 2020, the year when Nielsen began including out-of-home viewing in its final nationals. Even Chargers-Cowboys in 2017, the year of the “NFL ratings panic,” averaged 26.28 million. Packers-Lions averaged 33.70 million viewers on FOX of which 10.37 million were watching out-of-home (31%). The in-home audience of 23.32 million trails every Lions Thanksgiving game in the decade prior to 2020. As for the nightcap 7.26 million were watching out-of-home (29%).

(It is also worth noting that out-of-home viewing is no guarantee of ratings records, as any observer of recent viewership trends for the World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Final and the national championships of college football and basketball can attest — though those events generally do not take place on national holidays.)

Something to see going foward.

What does out of home mean in this context?

I doubt millions of people were watching the NFL games on Thanksgiving at sports bars

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

NBA In-Season Tournament ends with six-year high

Saturday’s Pacers-Lakers NBA In-Season Tournament final averaged a 2.5 rating and 4.58 million viewers across ABC (2.2, 4.14M) and ESPN2 (0.26, 439K), marking the largest NBA audience outside of Christmas and the postseason since Opening Night in 2017 (Celtics-Cavaliers: 5.60M). Ratings jumped 44% and viewership 46% from a Celtics-Warriors NBA Finals rematch in the same window last season (1.7, 3.14M). Even excluding the ESPN2 simulcast, the ABC-only figures increased 29% and 32% respectively.

What does out of home mean in this context?

I doubt millions of people were watching the NFL games on Thanksgiving at sports bars

I'll say in the holidays is a thing of watching in a friends house

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

MLS Cup numbers

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

NCAA volleyball final sets new mark opposite NFL

Despite facing competition from the NFL, the NCAA women's volleyball final surged to a new viewership high in its ABC debut.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

Sunday’s Texas-Nebraska NCAA women’s volleyball national championship averaged a 0.8 rating and 1.69 million viewers on ABC, surpassing a regional window on FOX in October (1.66M) to rank as the largest women’s college volleyball audience on record. Keep in mind the October window had a direct lead-in from the NFL, which helped mitigate the NFL competition. The Longhorns’ win cruised past the previous high for a national championship game, 1.20 million for Nebraska-Wisconsin on ESPN2 two years ago. Compared to last year’s title game — Texas-Louisville in a Saturday night window on ESPN2 — ratings jumped 95% and viewership 115% from a 0.39 and 786,000. In the same Sunday afternoon window last year, ABC averaged 381,000 for a Tennessee-Stanford regular season women’s college basketball game.

Broadcast tv does wonder for volleyball.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

19.4m for Eagles/Seahawks across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2:
ABC: 10.266m
ESPN: 7.947m
ESPN2 ManningCast: 1.148m

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2023/12/amazon-thursday-night-football-ratings-increase-saints-rams-viewership/

The latest edition of NFL Thursday Night Football (Saints-Rams) averaged a 4.8 rating and 10.20 million viewers on Amazon Prime Video — up 22% in ratings and 23% in viewership from Jaguars-Jets last year (3.9, 8.26M). The Rams’ win, which peaked with 11.67 million viewers, delivered the 13th increase in 14 weeks of TNF this season — the lone exception coming the prior week. Entering its season finale next week, Thursday Night Football is now averaging 11.97 million viewers — up 25% from the same point last season (9.57M).

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

What does out of home mean in this context?

I doubt millions of people were watching the NFL games on Thanksgiving at sports bars

As we reached Christmas felt it was good to use this tweet. Happy holidays.