Ratings Roundup: NBCSN Continues to See Ratings Uptick; Yankees-Tigers Nailbiter Delivers Big for YES

NBCSN is television’s fastest growing sports cable network in Total Day viewership (6 a.m.-6 a.m. live plus same day Nielsen data) since August 17, 2013, when its coverage of the Barclays Premier League debuted and Fox Sports 1 debuted. NBCSN averaged 148,000 Total Day viewers from the 2013-14 Premier League season kickoff last August 17 through this past Sunday, July 27 — an 80% increase over the comparable period from 2012-13 (82,000). That 80% jump in Total Day audience is the largest among all sports cable networks over that span. Even excluding the Sochi Winter Games, NBCSN’s year-over-year growth from August 17, 2013 through July 27, 2014 tops all other sports cable nets with its Total Day average audience increase of 44% (118,000 vs. 82,000) and Total Day Adults 25-54 uptick of 43% (57,000 vs. 40,000). the network averaged 114,000 Total Day viewers in July, highlighted by Tour de France, Formula One and Indy Car racing, up 23% from July 2013 (93,000)…

…Speaking of NBCSN, the network’s live Tour de France coverage averaged 288,000 viewers — up slightly from the average (287,000) last season, which featured the final stage of the milestone 100th Tour de France ending at 4:40 p.m. ET (vs. 1:40 p.m. ET for the final stage this year). NBCSN’s nightly Tour de France show — Tour Primetime — averaged 210,000 viewers this year, up 16% from last year (181,000)…

…Tuesday night’s extra innings Tigers-Yankees game was YES’ 2^nd-most watched Yankees telecast this season, averaging 360,000 TV Households in the New York DMA (4.83 average TV Household rating).  The telecast peaked from 10:30-10:45 with 492,000 TV Households (6.59 average TV HH rating).  The most-watched Yankees telecast on YES this season was the April 4 game against Toronto (Tanaka’s regular season debut), which generated 362,000 average total viewers (4.85 average TV HH rating)…

…NFL Fans are hungry for football as shown by the Giants/Bills NFL Hall of Fame Game drawing a 5.2 final rating and 8.5 million viewers on NBC Sunday night – every game of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and every game of the NBA Playoffs outside of the NBA Finals. The telecast was down 16% in ratings and viewership from Cowboys/Dolphins last year (6.2, 10.1M) but up 333% in both measures from Saints/Cardinals on NFL Network in 2012 (1.2, 2.0M). (SportsMediaWatch)…

…ESPN’s live telecast of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway on Sunday earned a 2.8 U.S. household rating and averaging 4,374,000 viewers, down from last year’s race, which earned a 3.2 rating and averaged 5,063,000 viewers. The highest rated among the nation’s metered markets for the telecast was Greenville, S.C., with a 9.9 rating, followed by Greensboro, N.C., at 9.0 and Birmingham, Ala., at 7.7. (Jayski.com)…

…In its first two years airing live on NFL Network every Monday – Friday from 6:00 – 10:00 AM ET (and re-airing from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM ET), NFL AM has experienced a steady increase in ratings, impressions and viewers. From January – June 2014, NFL AM is up 5% in US HH rating from 2013 and up 6% in HH impressions from 2013. Also, in the first half of 2014, NFL AM is up 10% in viewers from 2013 (58,765 to 64,813)…

…Last Saturday’s edition of the UFC on FOX earned a 1.5 final rating and 2.5 million viewers, tying the second-lowest rating ever for mixed martial arts on broadcast TV (17 telecasts dating back to 2008). The last five UFC telecasts on FOX have failed to earn at least a 2.0 rating. (SportsMediaWatch)