Sports TV News

UNC vs Duke Draws Season High Ratings For ESPN

“The overnight rating drew a 3.2, ESPN’s third highest college hoops number since 2002.”

Published

3 years ago

February 22, 2019

While Wednesday’s game left Duke fans and NBA Lottery teams reeling over the future of Zion Williamson, ESPN suits were politely hiding their smiles. Eighth-Ranked North Carolina’s 88-72 statement win over number one Duke was ESPN’s most watched regular season game in 11 years.

The overnight rating drew a 3.2, ESPN’s third highest college hoops number since 2002 (2008 UNC-Duke grabbed a 3.7 & 2008 Memphis-Tennessee secured a 3.7).

That 3.7 would also rank as this year’s 2nd most watched NBA regular season broadcast behind only ABC’s Christmas Day triple header. This weekend’s NBA All-Star game was a 3.8.

The two teams meet again March 9th in Chapel Hill.

Jack Ferris

Jack Ferris writes feature stories for BSM and serves as an update anchor for iHeart Radio in San Francisco and as a freelance contributor for the PAC-12 Network. Previously he has worked as a sports anchor for KXLY-TV in Spokane and as the co-host of the Don West Show on KPQ in Central Washington. You can find him on Twitter @JFerris714 or reach him by email at FerrisJack54@gmail.com.

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Sports TV News

Sunday Night Baseball Viewership Up On ESPN

“Telecasts are averaging 1.73 million viewers.”

Published

4 mins ago

May 11, 2022

Jordan Bondurant

The first month of the 2022 MLB regular season has concluded and ESPN is celebrating an uptick in viewership for Sunday Night Baseball.

The network announced on Tuesday that viewership for Sunday Night Baseball is up 4% compared to this time last year. In addition to that, compared to the 2020 full season average, ratings are up 40%.

Telecasts are averaging 1.73 million viewers. The Dodgers/Cubs game on May 8 averaged 1.781 million and peaked at over 2.1 million viewers during the 8-8:15 p.m. window.

Karl Ravech, Eduardo Perez and David Cone comprise the Sunday Night Baseball broadcast booth, with Buster Olney contributing reports.

Jordan Bondurant

Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett News Media. He also works for ABC8 News and Newsradio WRVA and 910 The Fan in Richmond, Virginia. His prior experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly and iHeartradio Richmond. He can be reached by email at Jordan.E.Bondurant@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.

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Sports TV News

Nickelodeon Gets Christmas Day NFL Game

“This will be the network’s first regular season game.”

Published

45 mins ago

May 11, 2022

BSM Staff

The NFL’s Christmas triple header will include a little slime this year. The afternoon game between the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos will be simulcast on CBS and Nickelodeon.

Nickelodeon has ramped up its NFL presence each year since 2020. The network has aired a kid-friendly broadcast of a Wild Card Round playoff game each of the last two seasons. Last year’s tile between the 49ers and Cowboys drew an audience of 41 million.

Before the start of last season, the studio show NFL Slimetime debuted. This will be the network’s first regular season game.

Kickoff is set for 4:30 pm Eastern on Christmas Day. No details of what Nickelodeon’s coverage may include are available yet. Nate Burleson, Noah Eagle and Nickelodeon star Gabrielle Nevaeh Green have been on the call of the network’s previous NFL broadcasts.

BSM Staff

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Sports TV News

Kentucky Derby Rebounds With 16 Million Viewers

“The Derby saw its best numbers since 2019 on Saturday. The audience peaked at 19 million.”

Published

16 hours ago

May 10, 2022

BSM Staff

The Kentucky Derby has now eclipsed 15 million viewers in each of the last eight years that the event was not effected by the Covid-19 Pandemic. An average audience of 16 million tuned in Saturday to see longshot Rich Strike win the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.

The Derby saw its best numbers since 2019 on Saturday. The audience peaked at 19 million.

During the weekend, the event kept finding new life on social media. According to an NBC Sports press release, the overhead shot of the final call drew big audiences across a number of the network’s digital platforms, having been viewed in total more than 36 million times.

Peacock also cashed in on the event’s success. The streaming platform posted an average minute audience of over 247,000 viewers during the Kentucky Derby.