Ratings Roundup: Warriors, Kobe Drive Record Viewership on ESPN, RSNs; The Masters Final Round Down 13% on CBS

The Masters final round was down 13% on CBS, but up on ESPN on Friday, while the Warriors drove NBA TV to record viewership and NBCSN generated its best ever NHL regular season ratings.

One of the most historic nights in NBA regular-season history delivered the two most-watched NBA regular-season finales ever on ESPN networks, as The Golden State Warriors’ record-setting 73rd win and Kobe Bryant’s farewell game were the most-watched, regular-season NBA game on ESPN in over two years. In addition, the Warriors historic victory on CSN Bay Area was the highest rated NBA game on an RSN ever and stands as the second highest-rated RSN regular season game of any kind (MLB, NHL or NBA). TWC Sportsnet also earned its best rating for Kobe’s farewell game since December 2013. 

The Golden State Warriors’ record-setting 73rd win delivered 3,649,000 viewers (p2+), making it the most-watched, regular-season NBA game on ESPN in over two years, since January of 2014. It propelled ESPN to win the night on cable in several key demos, including P18-34, P18-49, M18-34, M18-49 and M25-54. The telecast peaked from 11:15 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. ET with 4,160,000 average viewers. Simultaneously, Kobe Bryant’s farewell game – Los Angeles Lakers vs. Utah Jazz – delivered 3,465,000 viewers (p2+), which is the largest audience ever for an NBA regular-season game on ESPN2. The telecast peaked from 1 a.m. – 1:13 a.m. with 5,381,000 average viewers.

Kobe Bryant’s farewell game and the Golden State Warriors’ record-setting victory rank first and second, respectively, as the two most-streamed NBA regular-season games ever on WatchESPN. The Los Angeles Lakers win over the Utah Jazz produced 24,450,000 total minutes streamed, drew 563,500 unique viewers, and generated an average minute audience of 139,000. The Golden State Warriors’ victory over the Memphis Grizzlies produced a total of 16,200,000 total minutes streamed, drew 426,600 unique viewers and an average minute audience of 113,000 viewers.

In addition, the Lakers-Jazz telecast averaged 116,000 Hispanic p2+ impressions on ESPN Deportes, making it the most-watched regular-season NBA game ever on Spanish-language cable…

…The Warriors historic victory on CSN Bay Area also generated a 23.22 HH rating, which is higher than any RSN delivered NBA game on record. Research includes the famed 1995-1996 Bulls regular season on SportsChannel Chicago, when Michael Jordan propelled the Bulls to 72 wins, but never posted an RSN Nielsen rating higher than 22.9 (4-19-1996). Wednesday’s HH rating of 23.22 on CSN Bay Area, not only sets another all-time high for the network, but also now stands as the highest-rated RSN delivered regular season game of any kind (MLB, NHL or NBA), except for a lone Mariners vs. Angels game (25.3) on FSN Northwest in Seattle-Tacoma (9-23-1997), according to NBC Sports Group’s records.

In addition, last night’s CSN Bay Area telecast averaged approximately 577,025 households (SF DMA – San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose) for the entire game and posted a 28.57 peak rating during the 9:45 p.m. quarter hour (approximately 709,983 households).  The previous all-time high for the network was last Sunday’s Warriors-San Antonio Spurs game (18.47 HH rating).

CSN Bay Area Digital set a network record with 3.19 million minutes streamed for the Warriors-Grizzlies game on CSNBayArea.com and via NBC Sports Live Extra, surpassing last Sunday’s Warriors-Spurs game (3.1 million minutes streamed).

The Warriors-Grizzlies game telecast was the highest-rated program of the day in households and key demos: Adults 18-49 (12.50), Adults 25-54 (15.41), Men 18-49 (13.20), Men 25-54 (16.79), Women 18-49 (11.79) and Women 25-54 (14.01).  In addition to the game ratings, CSN Bay Area posted significant household ratings for its signature shows Warriors Pregame Live (4.11, approximately 102,160 households & highest-rated to date), Warriors Postgame Live (10.64, approximately 264,346 households & second-highest rated to date) and SportsNet Central (2.65, approximately 65,911 households).

…Locally, Time Warner Cable SportsNet garnered a 5.68 average household rating and averaged 514,495 Total Viewers for Kobe Bryant’s final Lakers game on April 14, 2016.  This represents the highest average household rating on the TWC SportsNet since December 8, 2013 when the network averaged a 6.74 household rating, which was the game – that aired exclusively on TWC SportsNet – where Kobe returned to action from his Achilles injury. Last night’s telecast peaked at a 6.4 household rating – with 564,012 Total Viewers – from 10:00 p.m. PT to 10:15 p.m. PT.  In the Adult 25-54 demo, the telecast registered a 4.00 average rating, which was also the highest since December 8, 2013.  The game also aired in the LA market on ESPN2.

In addition, TWC SportsNet established a ratings record for its Access SportsNet: Lakers postgame show, which delivered a 3.58 average household rating for Kobe’s final game.  The previous ratings high for Access SportsNet: Lakers was a 3.28 average household rating on November 20, 2012…

CBS finished with a 7.7 final rating and 12.4 million viewers for the final round of The Masters on Sunday, which saw Danny Willett capture his first green jacket after Jordan Spieth’s back-nine collapse. CBS’s numbers were down 13% from last year’s 8.7 rating and 14.0 million viewers, when Spieth tied the lowest score ever en route to a Masters title. However, this year’s coverage was up 12% in both rating and audience from 2014, which was the lowest rated final round since 1993 (6.9, 11.1M). (SBJ, SMW)…

… While CBS’s final-round coverage struggled to pull in viewers, ESPN’s live telecast of Round 2 of the Masters on Friday, April 8, earned a 2.2 U.S. household rating, averaging 3.060 million viewers – up from a 2.1 rating and an average of 2.952 million viewers in 2015 and a 1.8 rating and an average of 2.465 million viewers in 2014. Friday’s telecast peaked with a 2.6 rating and 3.727 million viewers from 5:30-6 p.m. (when Tom Watson, competing in his final round at The Masters, approached the 18^th green). Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C., was the nation’s highest-rated metered market with a 3.9 rating for Friday’s telecast, followed by Louisville, Ky., at 3.7 and Columbus, Ohio, at 3.6. Fort Myers-Naples, Fla., Knoxville, Tenn., and Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., tied at 3.5.

ESPN also enjoyed another strong day of digital viewership on Friday with the most-watched Masters Round 2 ever on WatchESPN, following the most-watched Round 1 ever on the service the previous day. Round 2 had an average minute audience of 49,000 and 13.2 total minutes viewed, both up 76 percent from 2015…

…Up North in Canada, more than 1.5 million viewers watched the final round of The Masters on Sunday (704,000 on TSN; 585,000 on CTV; 242,000 on RDS), up 10% over last year. The tournament peaked at 2.6 million viewers yesterday at 6:31 p.m. ET, as Willett made his final putt and received a standing ovation from the crowd at Augusta National Golf Club. In total, the tournament attracted 11 million unique Canadian viewers to CTV, TSN, and RDS, marking an 8% increase compared to last year. In addition, THE MASTERS wraps up as the most-watched tournament for TSN Digital platforms in 2016, attracting more than 300,000 video starts throughout the tournament…

…On April 10, NBA TV’s Golden State Warriors – San Antonio Spurs telecast generated an average of 2.6 million total viewers to become the network’s most-viewed telecast of all time (regular season and playoffs). The game telecast –peaking with an average of 3.7 million total viewers from 9-9:15 p.m. ET – registered cable television’s highest-rated sports program of the night, based on metered market delivery. Viewership for Sunday’s telecast was up 78% when compared to the previous all-time mark, set earlier this season for Spurs/Warriors which delivered an average of 1.4 million total viewers (January 25). The previous all-time mark was Warriors/Spurs on Jan. 25 with 1.4 million viewers. Further, NBA TV set new single day records for total day and primetime viewership for its tripleheader coverage on Sunday, April 10. The network garnered its most-viewed week ever in primetime (April 4-10), along with gains across all key demos.

Domestically, the NBA App garnered 939,000 daily unique visitors yesterday, the most ever for a single day during the NBA regular season. Social media content published across NBA TV, NBA on TNT and NBA.com accounts on Sunday generated more than 35 million social impressions, 57% higher than the comparable day last year.  Overall, the social media platforms netted 2.4 million video views, up 130% over the same day last year…

…The game capped a record-setting year for NBA TV and NBA Digital. NBA TV’s live game coverage averaged 345,000 total viewers for the 2015-16 regular season, a new all-time record for the network, and a 19% increase over last year. This season, the network averaged 176,000 viewers in primetime, its highest ever for a full regular season and a 14% increase over last year. Additionally, NBA TV’s total day delivery tied the 2012-13 regular season as its highest on record for a full season. NBA TV Fan Night’s live game coverage up 10% in viewership this season, NBA Inside Stuff cumulative airings up 16% in viewers over last year, live airings of the network’s signature NBA GameTime studio show up 9% in viewership, and premiere episodes of The Starters up 9% in viewership vs. 2014-15.

NBA Digital also recorded significant milestones and audience increases across NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA.com, the NBA App and social media. NBA LEAGUE PASS, the NBA’s live out-of-market subscription package, delivered a record 27 million video views and 1.2 billion total minutes viewed during the 2015-16 regular season. Globally, NBA.com and the NBA App netted a record 9.1 billion video views this season, up 160% over last year, and three billion visits, for a 27% year-over-year increase. The NBA App currently has 35 million downloads, with visits up 23% this season. Additionally, Turner and NBA social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter generated a record 27.1 billion impressions (+12%) and two billion video views (+32%) over the previous season…

… Led by strong Wednesday Night Rivalry and Sunday Night Hockey viewership, the 2015-16 NHL regular season on NBCSN averaged 378,000 viewers to rank as the most-watched full regular season in network history, and the most-watched on cable since the 1993-94 season. Viewership of the 2015-16 NHL regular season on NBCSN (94 games) was up 8% vs. the 2014-15 campaign (349,000; 91 games), and NBCSN’s previous record, set during the 2013-14 season (351,000). This year was the most-watched full NHL regular season* on cable since the 1993-94 season (ESPN/ESPN2; 474,000; 33 games). Record NHL regular-season viewership on NBCSN was propelled by Wednesday Night Rivalry and Sunday Night Hockey. NBCSN’s 24 exclusive Wednesday Night Rivalry telecasts averaged 608,000 viewers, up 8% vs. 2014-15 (565,000; 24 games), while NBCSN’s 13 Sunday Night Hockey matchups averaged 491,000 viewers, up 28% vs the 2014-15 Sunday game average (384,000; 13 games). NBCSN’s 10 most-watched games this season were either Wednesday Night Rivalry or Sunday Night Hockey games, andWednesday Night Rivalry produced three of the 10 most-watched NHL games in network history this year.

Led by presentations of the NHL Winter Classic and NHL Stadium Series, the NHL on NBC (11 games) averaged 1.545 million viewers, up 6% vs. last season (1.457; 13 games). Across all 105 NHL regular-season games on NBC and NBCSN, the 2015-16 campaign averaged 503,000 viewers, up 2% vs. the 2014-15 average (491,000; 104 games).

Buffalo led all local markets with a 1.23 household rating across NHL games airing on NBC and NBCSN, followed by Boston (1.13). Pittsburgh led all local markets on NBCSN this season with a 0.98 rating, followed by St. Louis with a 0.87 rating…

…As the Vegas odds-on-favorite to win the World Series, the Chicago Cubs opening night game scored an 8.0 household rating, or about 278,000 homes, making it the highest-rated Cubs broadcast to date on WLS. The Cubs averaged a 4.8 household rating over 24 games last season (Chicago Tribune)…

…Sunday’s FS1 UFC Fight Night, headlined by Junior Dos Santos’s decision victory over Ben Rothwell, drew 781,000 viewers and 424,000 in the Adults 18-49 demo to the channel, more than doubling last April’s Saturday afternoon Fight Night in both metrics. That ranks as the most-watched daytime Fight Night of the four on FS1 to date in both metrics. (Cynopsis Sports)…

…NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Texas earned a 2.5 overnight rating on FOX Saturday night, down 14% from last year (2.9) and the lowest overnight ever for a Sprint Cup race on FOX (dates back to 2001). The race suffered a nearly two-hour rain delay that pushed the start of the race past 9:30 PM ET. (SMW)…