TV ratings for sports other than hockey

[Greatzsky 99]

Sports media watch has a page for tracking ratings now, including NHL

Sports Ratings Tracker

A one-stop page for sports TV ratings news as it arrives, covering all sports and networks for which information is available.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

 

[LadyStanley]

NCAA women's tournament first round viewership dips in 2025 without Caitlin Clark driving ratings

Viewership dropped nearly 22% from 2024 in a lopsided first round of March Madness.

sports.yahoo.com

Women's tournament down without star like Clark

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Women's tournament trailing only last year as most-watched since '09

If well short of last year's record pace, the NCAA women's basketball tournament is outdrawing all other years dating back to 2009.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

The first two rounds of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament have averaged 602,000 viewers per game across the ESPN family of networks, down 26% from the same point last year (812K), but the second-highest average since 2009. The top game thus far was Monday’s UConn-South Dakota State second round game at 1.7 million viewers, marking the fifth-largest audience on record for the round, but barely a third of the 4.9 million who watched Caitlin Clark-led Iowa edge West Virginia in the same year-ago window. Compared to Louisville-Texas in that window two years ago, viewership more-than-doubled from 783,000.

The full second round averaged 982,000, trailing only last year (1.4M) as the highest on record for the round. As for the first round, the ESPN networks averaged 367,000 — trailing only last year’s record (469K) as the most-watched opening round since 2013. The first and second rounds increased 43 and 60 percent respectively from two years ago.

Sans upsets, NCAA men's tournament still on hot pace

An NCAA men's basketball tournament light on "Madness" is nonetheless trending at a multi-year viewership high.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

Coverage of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is averaging a combined 9.4 million viewers per window across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV, the highest two-round average since 1993 and up from 9.0 million at the same point last year. The previous high was 9.3 million in 2017. The second round averaged a combined 10.2 million per window, the highest since 2017. Saturday’s slate averaged 10.3 million, down 5% from last year (10.9M) but the second-highest average since 1992 (10.4M). Sunday’s slate averaged a combined 10.1 million (+13%).

The top two windows thus far were the early primetime slots on Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday window, which was led by CBS coverage of Michigan-Texas A&M, averaged 15.0 million across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV — actually down 10% from last year (16.6M) but otherwise highest on record for the window. The Sunday window, which was led by CBS coverage of Kentucky-Illinois, averaged 15.3 million across CBS, TBS and TNT (+3%).

As for the CBS standalone windows, the network drew 9.6 million for Duke-Baylor and 7.8 million for Florida-UConn on Sunday afternoon — the highest in their respective windows since 2017 and 1998 respectively. On Saturday, it drew 9.2 million for Arkansas-St. John’s — up 11% from last year and the highest in the window since 2017 — and 5.2 million for Purdue-McNeese (-16%).

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Auburn-Michigan tops Sweet 16

On another mixed night for the NCAA men's Sweet 16, CBS scored a pair of slight gains and Auburn-Michigan drew the top audeince of the round.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

Friday’s Auburn-Michigan NCAA men’s basketball regional semifinal averaged a 3.6 rating and 7.34 million viewers on CBS, down 4% in ratings but up a fraction of a percent in viewership from Duke-Houston last year (3.8, 7.33M).
Earlier in the night, Michigan State-Mississippi averaged a 3.3 and 6.71 million, flat and up 4% respectively from NC State-Marquette last year (3.3, 6.44M). The concurrent Tennessee-Kentucky game drew a 1.5 (-16%) and 3.56 million (-7%) across TBS and truTV. The early window combined for 10.27 million, down a fraction of a percent from last year (10.28M).

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Men's Elite Eight no match for last year's Easter-fueled high

NCAA men's Elite Eight viewership was no match for last year's Easter-fueled high, but still outpaced two yeas ago.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

The NCAA men’s basketball regional finals averaged a 4.2 rating and 9.0 million viewers across CBS, TBS and truTV, down 5% in ratings and 10% in viewership from last year (4.4, 10.1M) — when the Sunday games coincided with the Easter holiday. Compared to two years ago, viewership increased 4% from 8.7 million. Auburn-Michigan State averaged 11.7 million, down 23% from last year’s five-year high for NC State-Duke (15.1M) and ahead of only Miami-Texas two years ago (11.3M) as the least-watched late Sunday Elite Eight game since 2016 — when the window aired on TBS in primetime.

Houston-Tennessee led in with 7.1 million, down 32% from Purdue-Tennessee a year ago (10.4M) and the least-watched Sunday Elite Eight game on any network since at least 2008. In addition to the high bar set last year, this year’s games were hamstrung by largely uncompetitive results. Saturday’s games were considerably stronger relative to past years, as Duke’s rout of Alabama averaged 9.8 million — up 25% from last year (Alabama-Clemson: 7.8M) and the most-watched Elite Eight game on cable since Duke played in the same window against Arkansas three years ago (10.3M). Florida’s comeback win over Texas Tech led in with 7.5 million, up 16% from UConn’s year-ago rout of Illinois (6.5M).

Despite the Elite Eight decline, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is averaging a combined 9.4 million viewers per window across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV — even with last year and up 3% from 2023 (9.1M).

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Chalk rocks: Men's Final Four hits multi-year high

Featuring four #1 seeds for just the second time, the NCAA men's Final Four hit a multi-year viewership high.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

Saturday’s NCAA men’s basketball national semifinals averaged 15.3 million viewers on CBS, per Nielsen fast-nationals — up 19% from last year on TBS, TNT and truTV and the highest average for the Men’s Final Four since 2017.

Houston-Duke averaged 16.0 million, up 13% from UConn-Alabama last year (14.1M), up 24% from UConn-Miami on CBS two years ago (12.9M) and the most-watched men’s college basketball game of any kind since the 2022 national championship (Kansas-North Carolina: 17.1M) — surpassing the past two national championship games (2024 UConn-Purdue: 14.8M; 2023 UConn-San Diego State: 14.7M). (The previous high was 15.1 million for Duke’s Elite Eight loss to NC State last year.)

Florida-Auburn led in with 14.6 million, up 27% from Purdue-NC State last year (11.4M), up 23% from San Diego State-Florida Atlantic two years ago (11.9M) and the highest for the early national semifinal since Gonzaga-South Carolina in 2017 (14.7M). Going back further, only the 2017 game and Duke-Michigan State in 2015 (15.3M) rank higher dating back to 2005 (Illinois-Louisville: 15.7M).

 

[joelef]

Chalk rocks: Men's Final Four hits multi-year high

Featuring four #1 seeds for just the second time, the NCAA men's Final Four hit a multi-year viewership high.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

Saturday’s NCAA men’s basketball national semifinals averaged 15.3 million viewers on CBS, per Nielsen fast-nationals — up 19% from last year on TBS, TNT and truTV and the highest average for the Men’s Final Four since 2017.

Houston-Duke averaged 16.0 million, up 13% from UConn-Alabama last year (14.1M), up 24% from UConn-Miami on CBS two years ago (12.9M) and the most-watched men’s college basketball game of any kind since the 2022 national championship (Kansas-North Carolina: 17.1M) — surpassing the past two national championship games (2024 UConn-Purdue: 14.8M; 2023 UConn-San Diego State: 14.7M). (The previous high was 15.1 million for Duke’s Elite Eight loss to NC State last year.)

Florida-Auburn led in with 14.6 million, up 27% from Purdue-NC State last year (11.4M), up 23% from San Diego State-Florida Atlantic two years ago (11.9M) and the highest for the early national semifinal since Gonzaga-South Carolina in 2017 (14.7M). Going back further, only the 2017 game and Duke-Michigan State in 2015 (15.3M) rank higher dating back to 2005 (Illinois-Louisville: 15.7M).

I thought college sports was dying?

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

UConn rout of South Carolina scores big audience despite big decline

If less than half the audience of last year's high, Sunday's lopsided NCAA women's basketball national championship delivered a big audience.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

UConn’s blowout win over South Carolina in the NCAA women’s basketball national championship averaged 8.5 million viewers across ABC and ESPN, per Nielsen fast-nationals, trailing only the past two years as the most-watched women’s college basketball game of the Nielsen people meter era (dates back to 1988).

Compared to the last time Caitlin Clark and Iowa failed to make the title game, viewership jumped 75 percent from the same matchup of South Carolina and UConn in 2022, which aired in primetime exclusively on cable (4.85M). Prior to the past two years, the largest audience for the title game in the people meter era was 7.8 million for Texas Tech-Ohio State on CBS in 1993. In the 30 years since ESPN acquired exclusive rights, the largest audience prior to two years ago 5.7 million for UConn-Oklahoma in 2002.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

Florida-Houston national title nailbiter tops 18 million mark

The college basketball season ended on a strong note on the court -- and in the ratings -- as a compelling national championship delivered for CBS.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

Monday’s Florida-Houston NCAA men’s basketball national championship averaged a 9.2 rating and 18.1 million viewers on CBS, marking the highest rated men’s college basketball game since the 2021 national title game (Baylor-Gonzaga: 9.4) and the most-watched since the 2019 edition (Virginia-Texas Tech: 19.4M). The previous highs were set in the 2022 Final Four, a 9.1 rating for the Kansas-North Carolina title game and 17.7 million viewers for the Duke-North Carolina semifinal.

Ratings increased 21% and viewership 22% from UConn-Purdue on the TNT networks last season (7.6, 14.8M). Compared to the previous title game on CBS, UConn-San Diego State two years ago, this year’s game increased 18 and 23% respectively from a 7.8 and 14.7 million.

The full, three-game NCAA Men’s Final Four averaged 16.4 million viewers, up 21% from last year and the highest since 2017. The full NCAA men’s basketball tournament averaged a combined 10.2 million viewers per window across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV (+3%).