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TV ratings for sports other than hockey

Kirk Van Houten

Kirk Van Houten

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May 7, 2019
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https://x.com/ByMikeMitchell/status/1782778009545556243

Some silver linings, but softer start to NBA Playoffs

The opening weekend of the NBA Playoffs averaged a 2.0 rating and 3.77 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, TNT and truTV, down 8% in ratings and 9% in viewership from last year (2.2, 4.15M), which was the most-watched opening weekend since 2011 (4.32M).

Saturday’s Lakers-Nuggets Game 1 was the top game of the weekend (NBA or otherwise) with a 2.8 and 5.65 million on ABC, down 13% in ratings and 10% in viewership from Warriors-Kings last year (3.2, 6.56M), but still the second-largest audience on the opening Saturday of the playoffs since 1999. Sixers-Knicks preceded with a 2.1 and 4.19 million on ESPN, up a tick in ratings and 7% in viewership from Knicks-Cavaliers last year (2.0, 3.91M) and the network’s top opening weekend playoff game since it resumed NBA coverage in the 2002-03 season.
 
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Reaser

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Kirk Van Houten said:


MLS better get good numbers on Apple TV
Click to expand...


We can deduce some things applying logic. Apple subs would obviously be down this year, minus all the free subs that were given out not just in the U.S., but around the world. Most of those -except STH- don't exist this season. Also, the jump from under a mil subs to a final of near two mil subs, MLS said a majority of those new subs came from "South America and Europe" (for Messi, obviously) which isn't a bad thing business wise but does nothing for "U.S. viewership."

So less people with Apple subs = less people watching on Apple. Certainly less in the U.S. since majority of the "for Messi" subs would still come from outside the U.S..

With less people watching on Apple you'd assume more people would then be watching on FOX/FS1, as that would be their only option to watch MLS. Yet, the last Saturday match on FOX did 196k ... under 200k, on a Big 4 network! That's nearly impossible to do for a live sporting event, yet that's MLS.

The usual response to poor MLS linear #'s this season and last is that "millions are watching on Apple!" Which defies logic, of course.

Another way to find a true viewership number for MLS is to eliminate the games that are also streaming. Which happens when MLS teams play in the Concacaf Champions Cup -- a competition infinitely more important than largely meaningless MLS regular season matches. So linear-only, all MLS fans watching and those matches do numbers like 88k on FS1. Which sums that up.

As for streaming, the standard always is hide the numbers unless they're good. That the only numbers we've ever heard for Apple MLS matches are last season "a couple Messi games did over a million" (again, worldwide, so not a U.S.-only number) says that not much else is being watched, at least to any extent worth mentioning, giving a general idea of or even hinting at.
 
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Kirk Van Houten

Kirk Van Houten

Registered User
May 7, 2019
1,501
1,644
Reaser said:
We can deduce some things applying logic. Apple subs would obviously be down this year, minus all the free subs that were given out not just in the U.S., but around the world. Most of those -except STH- don't exist this season. Also, the jump from under a mil subs to a final of near two mil subs, MLS said a majority of those new subs came from "South America and Europe" (for Messi, obviously) which isn't a bad thing business wise but does nothing for "U.S. viewership."

So less people with Apple subs = less people watching on Apple. Certainly less in the U.S. since majority of the "for Messi" subs would still come from outside the U.S..

With less people watching on Apple you'd assume more people would then be watching on FOX/FS1, as that would be their only option to watch MLS. Yet, the last Saturday match on FOX did 196k ... under 200k, on a Big 4 network! That's nearly impossible to do for a live sporting event, yet that's MLS.

The usual response to poor MLS linear #'s this season and last is that "millions are watching on Apple!" Which defies logic, of course.

Another way to find a true viewership number for MLS is to eliminate the games that are also streaming. Which happens when MLS teams play in the Concacaf Champions Cup -- a competition infinitely more important than largely meaningless MLS regular season matches. So linear-only, all MLS fans watching and those matches do numbers like 88k on FS1. Which sums that up.

As for streaming, the standard always is hide the numbers unless they're good. That the only numbers we've ever heard for Apple MLS matches are last season "a couple Messi games did over a million" (again, worldwide, so not a U.S.-only number) says that not much else is being watched, at least to any extent worth mentioning, giving a general idea of or even hinting at.
Click to expand...
Apple now wants the FIFA Club World Cup of 2025 will see how it goes
 
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Kirk Van Houten

Kirk Van Houten

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May 7, 2019
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NBA playoff viewership sees modest decline through first week

Ratings for the NBA Playoffs have suffered only a modest decline through the second weekend of play, though challenges lie ahead.
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NBA playoff games averaged a 1.7 rating and 3.17 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, TNT and truTV through Sunday, down a tick in ratings and 6% in viewership from last year (1.8, 3.36M) but flat and up 5% respectively from 2022 (1.7, 3.15M). ABC aired six games through Sunday, one more than in previous seasons. The Lakers, who were eliminated Monday night, have played in five of the ten most-watched NBA telecasts this season (five of the top eight excluding All-Star events).
 
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Kirk Van Houten

Kirk Van Houten

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May 7, 2019
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Kentucky Derby thriller gallops to multi-year high

The Kentucky Derby hit a viewership high for one of the closest finishes in the history of the race.
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The race portion of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby averaged a 7.5 rating and 16.7 million viewers on NBC (15.9 million per Nielsen fast-nationals, plus a streaming audience of 714,000 per Adobe Analytics) — marking the largest audience for the event since 1989 on ABC. The race had a 27 share, the highest for the Derby since NBC began airing the race in 2001.

Ratings increased 9% and viewership 13% from last year (6.9, 14.8M), with the linear audience up 10% (from 14.44M) and streaming viewership up a sharp 92% (from 371K). The three-way photo finish — in which Mystik Dan edged Sierra Leone and Forever Young — peaked with 20.1 million viewers from 7-7:15 PM ET, the largest peak audience for the race since it began airing on NBC in 2001.

If not quite an unqualified success, this year’s Derby still occupies an enviable position on the sports viewership hierarchy. The race averaged more viewers than any game of the past two NCAA men’s basketball tournaments and every NBA or Major League Baseball game since 2019. For the year so far, the only sporting events with a larger audience were football games and the NCAA women’s basketball national championship.
 
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Kirk Van Houten

Kirk Van Houten

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May 7, 2019
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www.sportsmediawatch.com

Healthy start for Mavs-T'Wolves WCF despite viewership dip

A non-traditional Western Conference Finals featuring a new generation of stars got off to a healthy start in the ratings on TNT.
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Wednesday’s Mavericks-Timberwolves NBA Western Conference Final Game 1 averaged 7.02 million viewers across TNT and truTV, trailing only Lakers-Nuggets on ESPN and ESPN2 last year (7.36M) as the most-watched conference final opener in the past five years. Game 1 delivered the second-largest audience of the NBA Playoffs, trailing only the Timberwolves’ Game 7 win over the Nuggets on TNT and truTV last Sunday (8.41M). Minnesota has played in three of the seven most-watched games this postseason, trailing only the Nuggets (four) as the most of any team.

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Fewer viewers watch Celtics cruise in ECF Game 2

After a good start for an overtime Game 1, the Pacers-Celtics Eastern Conference Finals stumbled in a less-competitive Game 2.
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Thursday’s Pacers-Celtics NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 2 averaged a 3.1 rating and 5.64 million viewers on ESPN, flat in ratings and down 8% in viewership from Heat-Celtics on TNT last year (3.1, 6.13M) and the least-watched conference final game since 2021, when the round took place in late June and early July. Despite the lower numbers, Game 2 still delivered the seventh-largest audience of the NBA season, with the Pacers having played in three of the top seven — matching the Nuggets as the most of any team. That is of course a function of the Pacers playing a second round Game 7 and advancing to the conference finals, though the same could be said of the higher-profile Timberwolves (who have played in three of the top eight).

Through Thursday, NBA playoff games were averaging a 2.1 rating and 3.88 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, TNT/truTV and NBA TV — down 10% in ratings and 11% in viewership from the same point last year (2.3, 4.37M), but flat and up 2% respectively from 2022 (2.1, 3.88M).
 
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