Ratings Roundup: Fox Sports 1 Posts Best Week to Date; SEC on CBS Sees Best Start Since 2001

FOX Sports 1 posted its most-watched week ever from Nov. 4-10, both in prime time and total day.  The channel averaged 630,000 viewers in prime time and 157,000 viewers total day last week surpassing its previous best week, Aug. 26-Sept. 1 (384,000 prime; 153,000 total day), and beating SPEED’s fourth quarter 2012 averages by 237% in prime and 60% in total day. FOX Sports Live recorded its best weeknight viewership ever for the first and second hours, averaging 161,000 and 85,000 viewers, respectively. Thursday’s show, which followed Oklahoma-Baylor was the most-watched weeknight episode of FOX Sports Live to date with 341,000 viewers.

Oklahoma vs. Baylor on Thursday (11/7) is now FOX Sports 1’s most-watched telecast ever with 2.1 million viewers, surpassing every college football game on FX in 2011 and 2012, and the channel’s previous record of 1.8 million viewers for UFC FIGHT NIGHT on launch day, Aug. 17. Wednesday’s (11/6) UFC Fight for the Troops scored 641,000 viewers (FOX Sports 1’s most-watched Wednesday evening card), while Saturday’s (11/9) UFC Fight Night delivered 722,000 viewers, +443% compared to SPEED’s fourth quarter average  in the time period…

…CBS Sports’ coverage of the SEC ON CBS on Saturday, Nov. 9, which saw *No. 1-ranked Alabama defeat No. 13-ranked LSU in prime time (8:00-11:38 PM, ET), earned an average national household rating/share of 6.9/12, up 1% from last year’s Alabama-LSU prime time game, which delivered a 6.8/12. The 6.9/12 for Alabama-LSU is the second highest-rated college football game of the 2013 season, behind CBS Sports’ coverage of Alabama-Texas A&M (8.6/19; 9/14/13). Through nine weeks of the 2013 SEC ON CBS season, CBS Sports is averaging a national household rating/share of 4.0/9 and 6.4 million viewers (Persons 2+).  Marking the highest-rated and most-watched numbers for the SEC on CBS at this point in the season since the Network began airing primarily an SEC-only schedule in 2001…

…Last weekend’s NFL slate was led by the New Orleans Saints’ 49-17 blowout of the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. The game averaged a 12.3 final rating and 21.1 million viewers on NBC, almost even with last year (Houston-Chicago, 20.9 million viewers) and ranking as the most-watched, non-NFL Kickoff primetime game featuring the Saints in 20 seasons (Cowboys-Saints, 27.6 million on ABC, 12/19/94).  NBC is averaging 21.5 million viewers per NFL regular-season telecast, the network’s best 10-week start since acquiring the SNF package in 2006.

As for the Sunday afternoon schedule – the Week 10 NFL on FOX singleheader window (featuring either Packers/Eagles or Panthers/49ers) earned a 12.2 final rating and 20.2 million viewers last Sunday, up 33% in ratings from coverage on CBS last year (9.2). The telecast earned the season’s third-highest rating and viewership for the NFL singleheader (10 telecasts). (SportsMediaWatch).

The Week 10 NFL on CBS national window, featuring Broncos/Chargers, earned a 14.3 final rating and 24.1 million viewers, down 3% in ratings and 1% in viewership from coverage featuring Cowboys/Eagles on FOX last year (14.7, 24.3M). The telecast is tied as the lowest rated NFL national window of the season. After seven straight increases to start the season, the last three national window telecasts have had declines in ratings and viewership. (SportsMediaWatch)

The Week 10 Dolphins/Buccaneers “Monday Night Football” game drew 11.0 million viewers on ESPN, down 15% from Chiefs/Steelers last year (12.8M). Dolphins/Buccaneers ranks as the third-least viewed “MNF” telecast of the season. (SportsMediaWatch)…

…Univision’s coverage of Mexico and New Zealand on Wednesday delivered an average of 1.9 million Adults 18-49 and reached 5.6 million viewers who watched all or part of the FIFA World Cup qualifier (according to Fast Nationals). On Univision’s digital platforms, the live stream ranked as the largest single game event since the 2010 FIFA World Cup, delivering nearly 650,000 live streams across all platforms….

…ESPN’s coverage of No. 2 Michigan State defeating No. 1 Kentucky 78-74 on Tuesday is the network’s second most-viewed, non-conference men’s college basketball game ever. The first telecast of the State Farm Champions Classic doubleheader (also saw No. 5 Kansas upend No. 4 Duke 94-83) averaged 4 million viewers and a 2.6 HH US rating. The MSU-Kentucky game is second only to No. 2 Tennessee defeating No. 1 Memphis 66-62 on February 23, 2008 (5,281,000 viewers and a 3.2 HH US rating). Kansas vs. Duke averaged 2,977,000 viewers and a 2.1 HH US rating. The two games averaged a combined 3,509,000 viewers and a 2.4 HH US rating, making it the most-viewed and highest rated Champions Classic, surpassing 2,504,000 viewers and a 1.6 HH US rating in 2012 and 2,514,000 viewers and 1.7 HH US rating in 2011…

…ESPN scored its best numbers for a Thursday college football game so far this season with the Oregon/Stanford battle that delivered a 4.1 in national numbers, with 5.73 million tuning in. That game bumped heads with NFL Network’s TNF game (which drew a 5.4 score) as well as the NBA on TNT and Oklahoma/Baylor on FOX Sports 1…

…ESPN’s first Wednesday NBA doubleheader of the season on Nov. 6 – the Indiana Pacers defeated the Chicago Bulls to remain undefeated and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks – averaged 2,048,000 viewers (P2+) and was up 72 percent compared to the first Wednesday doubleheader last season, according to Nielsen.  In addition, Wednesday’s doubleheader averaged a 1.4 U.S. household rating, up 56 percent from last year. Last season’s first Wednesday doubleheader included the Philadelphia 76ers at the New Orleans Pelicans and the San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Clippers. It averaged 1,193,000 viewers and a 0.9 U.S. household rating….

…The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series from Phoenix scored 602,000 viewers, up 4% from its delivery on SPEED last November (578,000).  Through 10 NCWTS races on FOX Sports 1 average viewership is +11% compared to the 10 races that ran in the same span on SPEED in 2012 (729,000 vs. 657,000).