Ratings Roundup: Australian Open Finals Net Big Numbers for ESPN; NBC Sports Sees NHL All-Star Game Bump

Ratings roundup is a rundown of ratings news from the past week and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week’s edition, the Australian Open’s historic Men’s and Women’s Finals net big numbers for ESPN, NBC Sports sees a 42% bump for the NHL All-Star Game, ESPN reports First Take is up since its move to ESPN, NBA Sunday Showcase debut was up 11%, and Kansas-Kentucky is the most viewed college basketball game of the season for ESPN.

ESPN’s coverage of the historic Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal Australian Open Men’s Final on Sunday drew the largest audience since the Men’s and Women’s Finals were moved to a 3 a.m. ET time slot from primetime (in 2005 and 2009, respectively). Federer’s five-set victory averaged of 1,133,000 viewers — the most since 2004, a year before the move to an overnight (3 a.m.) time slot in 2005. The audience was up 107% over last year (from 547,000 featuring Novak Djokovic’s defeat of Andy Murray). ESPN’s TV audience of 1,085,000 (based on a 0.7 rating) was also the most since the match aired in primetime on Saturday nights and more than double the 2016 audience. The audience on WatchESPN was up 140%: 48,000 vs. 20,000.

The historic matchup of the Williams sisters in the early hours of Saturday — Serena Williams defeated her sister Venus for an Open Era record 23rd Major title — drew a total audience of 953,000 viewers, up 37% from last year’s match between Serena and Angelique Kerber.  It was the largest audience for the event since it moved to an overnight time slot in 2009. The TV audience of 926,000 (based on a 0.6 rating) was 36% larger than the 2016 audience. The audience on WatchESPN was up 59%: 27,000 vs. 17,000…

…NBC Sports’ presentation of the 2017 NHL All-Star Game, which debuted the exciting new 3-on-3 tournament format, averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 2.28 million viewers across NBC and NBC Sports Digital platforms (according to Nielsen Fast Nationals and Adobe Analytics). The NBC-only broadcast averaged 2.262 million viewers, up 42% vs. the 2016 NHL All-Star Game on NBCSN (1.595 million) and up 46% vs. NBC’s 2015-16 NHL regular-season average (1.545 million). This year’s game (3:39-7 p.m. ET), which marked the event’s return to network television, was the most-watched NHL All-Star Game since 2004 and delivered a 1.32 household rating, up 47% vs. 2016 (0.90, NBCSN). Viewership of the game peaked in the 6:45-7 p.m. quarter hour, as more than 2.5 million viewers (2.529 million) watched the telecast.

Live streaming of the 2017 NHL All-Star Game on connected devices was up 53% in unique devices (23,000) and up 12% in live minutes (1.898 million) vs. 2016 (15,000 uniques, 1.7 million minutes). The Average Minute Audience for the NHL All-Star Game live stream via the NBC Sports app and NBCSports.com was 18,600 viewers…

…The daytime ratings battle between ESPN’s First Take and FS1’s Undisputed continues. ESPN reports that First Take is averaging 515,000 viewers per live episode since its move to ESPN (Jan. 3-27). Since moving to ESPN on Jan. 3, the two-hour program has seen a 14% increase in viewership compared with the same time period in 2016, when the show was on ESPN2. The re-air of First Take on ESPN2 draws an average of 179,000 viewers. In addition, more young men are watching live episodes of First Take, which airs at 10 a.m.-noon ET Monday-Friday, since the move to ESPN. The Men 18-34 demo has increased 41% to 134,000 average impressions, while Men 18-49 viewership has also grown double digits: 12%…

…The season debut of the NBA Sunday Showcase series on ABC (Jan. 29) delivered double-digit audience increases. This past Sunday’s matchup — a 107-91 Cleveland Cavaliers victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder — generated a total live average audience (TV + streaming) of 3,230,000 viewers, up 11% from 2,905,000 viewers last season for Chicago Bulls at L.A. Clippers. On ABC, Sunday’s broadcast averaged 3,186,000 viewers (p2+), which was up 10% from 2,886,000 viewers last year. Additionally, the streaming audience increased by 220%, generating an average minute audience of 43,600 viewers, up from 19,800 last season…

…ESPN’s finale of the annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge Presented by Sonic — No. 2 Kansas’s 79-73 win over No. 4 Kentucky on Saturday Jan. 28 — earned a total live audience (TV + streaming) of 3,426,000 viewers, up 13% over last year’s overtime contest (3,042,000 viewers). The game is the most-watched men’s college basketball game this season on an ESPN network and also the most-watched SEC/Big 12 Challenge game since the event started in 2013-14 (40 games).