Ratings Roundup: NBA Finals Ratings Second-Best Ever on ABC Through Game 3; Fox, Univision Ride Copa America Centenario

The 2016 NBA Finals is the second-most watched ever on ABC through three games, according to Nielsen. The series is averaging 17,702,000 viewers, (p2+). Thursday night’s NBA Finals Game 3 – the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Golden State Warriors by 30 points (120-90) – was the second-most watched NBA Finals Game 3 ever on ABC. It averaged 16,465,000 viewers and peaked with 18,764,000 viewers from 10-10:15 p.m. ETThe NBA Finals on ABC won the night across all of television for the 51st consecutive time.

nba-finals-1The 2016 NBA Finals is also the second-highest rated ever on ABC through three games, based on overnight ratings from Nielsen. The series, in which the Golden State Warriors are leading the Cleveland Cavaliers 2-1, is averaging a 12.2 overnight rating. Wednesday night’s Game 3 – the Cavaliers defeated the Warriors by 30 points (120-90) – generated an 11.8 overnight rating, making it the third-highest rated Game 3 ever on ABC. The telecast peaked with a 13.4 from 10-10:15 p.m. NBA Finals Game 3 is expected to win the night across all of television for the 51st consecutive time. Top local markets were as follows: Cleveland 36.7; San Francisco 30.7; Columbus 17.6; Miami 16.7; San Antonio 16.2.

The 2016 NBA Finals on WatchESPN is up double-digits from 2015 through three games. The series has generated approximately 143,000,000 total minutes, an average of 952,000 unique viewers and an average minute audience of 293,000, up 42 percent, 35 percent and 61 percent from last year (101,000,000 total minutes, 706,000 unique viewers, 182,000 average minute audience)…

… The United States’ 4-0 win over Costa Rica in the 2016 COPA AMERICA CENTENARIO: THE CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE AMERICAS averaged 1.6 million viewers on FS1 Tuesday night, making it the most-watched men’s soccer match in the network’s history. It surpasses the 2015 CONCACAF CUP (1.561 million viewers), the one-match winner-take-all playoff between arch rivals Mexico and the United States for a coveted spot in the FIFA 2017 Confederations Cup.  The viewership number also surpasses the USA’s first match of the tournament, when 1.536 million tuned in to the Americans’ 2-0 loss to world No. 3-ranked Colombia on June 3.

The U.S.-Costa Rica rating marked a 54% bump over the average for the U.S. group stage matches in last summer’s prestigious CONCACAF Gold Cup (1.036 million average), also held in America. The U.S.-Costa Rica ratings also marked a full 260% rise over the average to date of U.S. Men’s National Team friendlies on FS1 (445,000 viewers). The U.S.-Costa Rica match also set a record on FOX Sports GO with 100,389 unique viewers, making it the most-watched live stream of a U.S. Men’s National Team match ever on the platform.

In addition, Despite the absence of Lionel Messi, Argentina’s June 6 win over Chile drew 862,000 viewers on FS1, setting a new record for the most-watched men’s soccer match in FS1 history that did not include the United States Men’s National Team…

… during the opening weekend of Copa America Centenario, Univision Deportes’ coverage reached 21.2 million Total Viewers 2+ and is averaging 2.9 million Total Viewers 2+ and 1.5 million Adults 18-49 per match. Compared to the 2014 World Cup tournament group stage, Copa America Centenario to date is up +14% among Total Viewers 2+ and +16% among Adults 18-49.

 

The opening match between USA and Colombia that aired on Friday, June 3rd averaged 3.9 million Total Viewers 2+ and 2.0 million Adults 18-49.  The match was the best ever for a Copa America opening match on any network regardless of language.

The Mexico versus Uruguay match aired on Sunday, June 5th and averaged 5.1 million Total Viewers 2+ and 2.9 million Adults 18-49, marking the most-viewed soccer telecast since the Gold Cup final on any network regardless of language.  The telecast out-delivered games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup finals on NBC & NBC Sports Network, respectively.

 

The Jamaica versus Venezuela match aired on Sunday, June 5th and averaged 1.9 million Total Viewers 2+ and 1.0 million Adults 18-49.

 

The Mexico versus Uruguay match made Univision the No. 2 broadcast station during the time period (8:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. ET, live across time zones), behind ABC who aired the NBA Finals – Game 2 among Total Viewers 2+ in Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Chicago and San Francisco as well in the Adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34 demos in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix and Sacramento

The Mexico vs. Uruguay match was the No. 2 broadcast program of the day, only behind the NBA Finals Game 2, among Total Viewers 2+ in Los Angeles; Adults 18-49 in Los Angeles, Dallas and Phoenix; and Adults 18-34 in Los Angeles, Houston and Phoenix

Coverage of the Mexico vs. Uruguay match on Univision had higher viewership than the CBS, NBC and FOX stations combined in the 8:00 pm-10:00 pm ET, time period (live across time zones) among Total Viewers 2+ in Los Angeles, Houston and San Francisco;  Adults 18-49 in Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix and Sacramento; and Adults 18-34 in Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix and Sacramento

The Jamaica versus Venezuela match made Univision the No. 1 broadcast station during the time period (5:00 pm-7:00 pm ET, live across time zones) among Persons 2+ in Los Angeles and Houston; Adults 18-49 in Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix and Sacramento; Adults 18-34 in Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Phoenix and Sacramento

The Jamaica versus Venezuela match on Univision had higher viewership than the ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX stations combined in the 5:00 pm-7:00 pm ET, time period (live across time zones) among Adults 18-49 in Los Angeles and Houston; and Adults 18-34 in Houston, Phoenix and Sacramento

 Through three days and six matches of the 2016 Copa America Centenario tournament, Univision Deportes has delivered over 380,000 live streams for more than seven million minutes watched; 90% of all live streams have come from the Univision Deportes App.

 

Copa America Centenario 2016 (Mexico vs Uruguay) had the No. 2 most socially engaged early fringe audience after the 2016 NBA Finals on 6/5/2016 across all English and Spanish broadcast networks. Copa America Centenario 2016 was No. 2 the most social sports program after the 2016 NBA Finals across all English and Spanish broadcast/cable networks…

 

…Tennis Channel has seen its highest total in viewing during the French Open, as the the network had 115 million quarter-hour household impressions over the tournament, despite numerous rain delays stopping play. This number represents the greatest viewing in network history for the tournament and is a 7% increase from last year’s 107 million.

 

Tennis Channel’s highest rated match was achieved during the first week before most of the rain delays and featured Serena Williams against Kristina Mladenovic of France, with a 1.24 household coverage-area rating in the Nielsen metered markets, representing 307,000 homes. This match gave the network a 14-percent increase over last year’s highest rated first-week match between American Sloane Stephens and Bulgaria’s Tsvetana Pironkova.

 

Along with the linear channel, the network has seen significant growth across all of its digital platforms. Despite the rain delays, Tennis Channel Plus, the network’s subscription streaming service, saw an increase in paid subscribers of 130%. This growth can be attributed to the network’s overall ratings increase, a 26% increase in TV Everywhere usage and a subscriber-acquisition joint promotion with the USTA. Tennis Channel Plus experienced increased growth across all platforms with “Connected TV” being the most notable.  On the first day of the tournament the service ranked as the No. 1 grossing sports app on Apple TV (and No. 2 on iPad) and has consistently ranked in the top-three grossing sports apps through the entire tournament.  In addition, Tennis Channel Plus experienced overall usage increases with total live playbacks increasing 53% versus the previous year and average session times increasing by 37%…

 

 

 

 

 

 

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