Ratings Roundup: Heat-Pacers Finale Draws Largest TNT Audience Ever; Stanley Cup Conference Finals Up 94% on NBCSN
Story Highlights
Game 7 of the Heat-Pacers Eastern Conference Finals series delivered a 7.1 U.S. HH rating and 11.5 million total viewers (based on Nielsen Fast Nationals,), making it the third highest-rated and third most-viewed program in the history of the network. Monday’s Game 7 ranks as TNT’s highest-rated and most-viewed NBA telecast in the network’s 29-year history with the league and is the highest-rated and most-viewed NBA game across all of television (broadcast and cable) this year. The Heat’s Game 7 victory peaked with an average of 13.1 million total viewers from 10-10:30 p.m. ET. Locally, the game averaged a 31.7 HH rating in Miami and a 21.9 HH rating in Indianapolis. Following Game 7, Inside the NBA averaged a 3.3 HH rating (based on metered market ratings) to record its highest-rated and most-viewed show since 2011 (May 26 – 3.9 U.S. HH rating).
Overall, the Eastern Conference Finals averaged 8.4 million total viewers, up 8% over the network’s coverage of the 2012 Western Conference Finals, and a 5.2 U.S. HH rating, up 4% over last year’s 5.0 average rating…
…The Boston-Pittsburgh Conference Final Game 1 on NBC Saturday in primetime (8-11 p.m. ET) delivered a 2.0 HH rating and 3.376 million viewers, making it the most-watched Conference Final game on NBC (since current coverage started in 2006), and the most-watched Conference Final game across both broadcast and cable in 11 years (since 5/29/02: Game 6, Detroit/Colorado on ESPN, 3.597 million). The game was up 125% vs. Eastern Conference Final Game 1 last year (1.499, NYR/NJ). Then Game 2 of the series on Monday, registered 2.601 million viewers on NBC Sports Network, making it the network’s most-watched NHL Conference Final game ever, and the most-watched Conference Final game on cable since 2002 (5/31/02: Detroit/Colorado, ESPN, 3.036 million viewers). The game drew a 1.46 US HH rating, 2.601 million average viewers, up 94% from Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals last year (1.342 million, New Jersey/NY Rangers).
The Western Conference Finals have also impressed on NBC Sports Network, as Game 1 of the Los Angeles-Chicago series on Saturday drew a 1.01 US HH rating and 1.624 million average viewers, up 47% from Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals last year (1.105, LA/Phoenix). The next day, game 2 of the series drew a 1.17 US HH rating, 2.019 million average viewers, up 142% from Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals last year (0.835, LA/Phoenix).
Through three days, the Conference Final round of the 2013 NHL Playoffs on NBC Sports Network was up 94% in average viewership compared to the same days last year (2,074,000 vs. 1,071,000)…
…Last night’s The NBA Finals Game 1 on ABC generated a 10.6 overnight rating, according to Nielsen. This is the third-highest Game 1 rating since 2004 and the fourth consecutive year Game 1 of The Finals has delivered a double-digit overnight rating.
Based on overnights, it’s expected to mark the 31st consecutive time an NBA Finals game has won the night for all of television. The telecast peaked at a 13.1 rating during the conclusion (11:30-11:45 p.m. ET).
Additionally, the telecast scored a 34.0 local market rating in Miami, the best Game 1 rating ever for that market, while in San Antonio, the game delivered a 35.3.
The KIA NBA Countdown pregame show averaged a 4.6 overnight rating, matching last year’s number and marking a 28 percent increase from the 2011 show (3.6).
…NASCAR on FOX concluded its 2013 portion of the season as the highest-rated and most-watched sport in-season for the 13th straight season. The complete 2013 NASCAR on FOX Sprint Cup season averaged a 4.8/10 household rating/share for the third time in four years (2010, 2012 & 2013). In addition, the 2013 NASCAR season outperformed the NBA Playoffs on ABC by 41% (4.8 vs. 3.4), as well as complete NBA Conference Finals coverage on all networks by 7% (4.8 vs. 4.5). NASCAR on FOX is the only major sport on a broadcast network not to post a year-to-year ratings decline this year. NASCAR on FOX also continues to be a ratings force among male viewers watching events live. Compared to broadcast network prime time entertainment programming, live NASCAR on FOX viewership ranks No. 2 among Men 18-49 and Men 25-54 from February through the end of the broadcast season. Sunday’s NASCAR on FOX coverage of the FEDEX 400 from Dover, the network’s final race of the year, posted a 3.8/9, with 6.0 million viewers, up +3% for the same race a year ago (3.7/9, 5.7 million viewers), and ranked as the highest-rated and most-watched event of the day for the 10th time (out of 13 races) this year. Viewership for Sunday’s race opened with 5.2 million viewers at 1:19 PM ET and grew steadily throughout the broadcast, peaking at 8.0 million viewers from 4:30-4:36 PM ET as Tony Stewart passed Juan Pablo Montoya in the final three laps to take home the checkered flag…
…Deportes Telemundo’s “Rumbo al Mundial” Soccer World Cup Qualifier between Jamaica and Mexico on June 4, ranked as the No. 1 sporting event on television – broadcast or cable – regardless of language, averaging 2,867,000 total viewers and 1,733,000 adults 18-49, according to Nielsen. The match also reached a cumulative audience of 5,731,000 viewers and 3,379,000 adults 18-49. “Rumbo al Mundial” was the top ranked telecast among total viewers in Houston and Los Angeles regardless of language in the time period and ranked No. 1 program regardless of language among adults 18-49 in Los Angeles, Houston, Miami and Dallas. It also ranked No. 1 in Spanish-language television in Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco and Phoenix, outranking Univision…
…ESPN’s coverage of all 16 sites of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Regionals on ESPN2 and ESPNU combined to reach 11,680,000 viewers for its game telecasts. In addition, fans watched more than 96,600,000 live and replay minutes of Regionals action on the ESPN3 and WatchESPN platforms. ESPN3’s coverage of LSU vs. Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday, June 2, is the network’s most-viewed NCAA baseball game, logging 136,000 unique viewers that watched over 11 million live minutes. Greenville-Spartanburg was the highest-rated metered market for ESPN2’s Regional telecasts followed by Louisville, New Orleans, Tulsa, Raleigh-Durham and Knoxville. The top 10 was rounded out by Birmingham, Greensboro, Charlotte and Nashville. Richmond, Norfolk, Memphis, Phoenix and Buffalo were the 11 through 15 highest-rated markets…
…The six live Formula One races this season on NBC Sports Network (five) and NBC (one) have reached 4.746 million average viewers, up 137% over the same point last season (SPEED, 2.005 million). NBC’s live broadcast of the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, May 26, was watched by 1.413 million viewers, making it the most-watched F1 race on U.S. television in six years, up 231% vs. last year’s race (SPEED, 427,000 viewers), and up 36% vs. FOX’s four-race F1 average last year (1.038 million), all of which were broadcast in the afternoon, one live (Canadian) and three on same-day delay (European, British, German)…
…ESPN’s coverage of the Women’s College World Series (WCWS) national championship title (Oklahoma over Tennessee) drew approximately 1.2 million viewers around the nation tuned in for the 12-inning Oklahoma victory in Game 1 on ESPN2 and 1,315,000 for Game 2 on ESPN. Knoxville delivered the highest metered market rating for any WCWS telecast on ESPN2 since 2007, averaging an 11.9 rating for Game 1 of the Finals. The current 2007 record, a 15.3 metered market rating, is also held by Knoxville when Tennessee faced Arizona in the Finals. In addition, Game 1 and Game 2 set local Oklahoma City records for ESPN2 and ESPN, respectively. The telecasts averaged a 6.6 metered market rating for Game 1 and a 6.7 for Game 2 in Oklahoma City – the highest ratings for WCWS games in Oklahoma ever on either network. Game 2 in Knoxville averaged a 7.8…
…Heading into the MLB Draft on Thursday, MLB Network had its most-watched week of the 2013 regular season last week and its second-most watched week ever in a regular season, with an average of 262,000 viewers in prime time, marking a 41% rise in viewership from the same week in 2012. Meanwhile, March through May 2013 marked MLB Network’s most-watched three-month period ever, with 206,000 average viewers per month in prime time. (Cynopsis Sports)
