NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 22: Lonzo Ball walks on stage with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted second overall by the Los Angeles Lakers during the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 22, 2017 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

If you would like to ask about or request ratings for a program or event on these networks, please reach Douglas on Twitter @SonOfTheBronx.

Ratings News and Notes

  • ESPN was television’s key demo winner in prime time on Thursday, June 22, thanks to the “2017 NBA Draft”. It led among adults 18-49 (1.36 rating), adults 18-34 (1.21), and adults 25-54 (1.43) from 7:30 p.m.-12:20 a.m.

    Total viewership for the Draft (3.555 million from TV and streaming combined) was up 15 percent from 2016, and ranked as the second-most watched NBA Draft on ESPN to-date. 2015 still remains as their most-watched NBA Draft ever with 3.74 million viewers.

    According to ESPN, the 2017 telecast peaked with a 4.0 metered market rating from 8:15-8:30 p.m. ET, when the New York Knicks drafted point guard Frank Ntilikina.

    Additionally, ESPN set several NBA Draft streaming records on Thursday. The NBA Draft drew an average minute streaming audience of 135,200 viewers, up 55 percent from 2016, and 1,153,500 unique viewers, up 107 percent from last year. ESPN delivered 39,215,000 total minutes streamed for the NBA Draft.

    The NBA Draft on ESPN generated a 5.3 rating in the Louisville market, making it the top local market. The rest of the top 10 markets include: Charlotte (4.7); Indianapolis (4.4); Norfolk (4.0); Oklahoma City (3.9); Raleigh-Durham (3.8); Los Angeles (3.8); Las Vegas (3.8); Richmond (3.7); San Antonio (3.6).

    (Sources: ESPN [1], [2])

  • The week in men’s college baseball World Series action for June 19-24 (10 telecasts, 9 of them on ESPN) averaged 1.01 million viewers and 302,000 adults 18-49 — up 55 percent in viewers (vs. 653,000) and up 42 percent among adults 18-49 (vs. 213,000) compared to CWS action from June 20-25, 2016, although with last year’s 12 CWS telecasts, five had aired on ESPN, five on ESPN2, two on ESPNU.

    ESPN2’s top telecast of the week was TCU’s 4-3 victory over Louisville (831,000 viewers) on Thursday, June 22 in the CWS. Most notable was the TV market of Louisville, Ky. — one of nation’s top markets for college basketball — which preferred watching TCU-Louisville on ESPN2 (8.0 local rating/13 share, based on overnights) that evening over ESPN’s NBA Draft, despite five players with local ties to Louisville selected in the first round. (Source: WDRB). The Dallas-Fort Worth market — of most interest for TCU — also had more local households tune in to the CWS (1.8 rating) than the NBA Draft (1.6). (Source: Bill Jones).

  • The Canadian Football League kicked off on June 24 on ESPN2 (simulcast from Canada’s TSN) with Edmonton-BC (133,000 viewers). The game was off 31 percent from the year-ago comparable Saturday night game (Calgary-BC on June 25, 2016: 193,000 viewers).

  • The Sunday, June 25 Major League Soccer match of Portland-Seattle on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. ET posted 294,000 viewers, an increase of 42 percent from the June 26, 2016 Portland-Houston MLS match (207,000 viewers) which had then aired in the early evening.

espnlogo

ESPN Top 25 (and Select) Programs

ESPN ratings for June 19-25, 2017
Click on image grid for larger view

In total viewership for its entire week in Prime Time (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.), ESPN is up +67 percent (1,608,000 vs. 964,000) from one week earlier and up +24 percent (1,608,000 vs. 1,301,000) from the same week one year ago (June 20-26, 2016).

In total viewership for its entire week in Total Day (6 a.m. to 5:59 a.m.), ESPN is up +30 percent (620,000 vs. 477,000) from one week earlier and down -11 percent (620,000 vs. 694,000) from the same week one year ago (June 20-26, 2016).

ESPN’s daily programs viewership averages for the week:

  • “First Take” (ESPN, June 19-23 10 a.m.): 514,000 (282,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Outside the Lines: First Report” (ESPN, June 19-23): 308,000 (152,000 adults 18-49)
  • “NFL Live” (ESPN, June 21-23): 325,000 (164,000 adults 18-49)
  • “NBA: The Jump” (ESPN, June 21-22): 344,000 (172,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsNation” (ESPN, June 21-22): 381,000 (211,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Highly Questionable” (ESPN, June 21-22): 463,000 (271,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Around the Horn” (ESPN, June 20-22): 464,000 (253,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Pardon the Interruption” (ESPN, June 19-22): 725,000 (317,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN, June 19-23 7 a.m.): 292,000 (166,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN, June 19-23 8 a.m.): 307,000 (170,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN, June 19-23 9 a.m.): 372,000 (197,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN, June 19-23 6 p.m.): 580,000 (310,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN, June 22-23 midnight): 550,000 (294,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter at Night” (ESPN, June 19-21 1 a.m.): 269,000 (128,000 adults 18-49)

ESPN2

ESPN2 Top 25 (and Select) Programs

ESPN2 ratings for June 19-25, 2017
Click on image grid for larger view

In total viewership for its entire week in Prime Time (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.), ESPN2 is up +4 percent (274,000 vs. 274,000) from one week earlier and down -16 percent (274,000 vs. 363,000) from the same week one year ago (June 20-26, 2016).

In total viewership for its entire week in Total Day (6 a.m. to 5:59 a.m.), ESPN2 is down -5 percent (163,000 vs. 163,000) from one week earlier and down -41 percent (163,000 vs. 275,000) from the same week one year ago (June 20-26, 2016).

ESPN2’s daily show viewership averages for the week:

  • “Mike & Mike in the Morning” (ESPN2, June 19-23): 181,000 (85,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Dan Le Batard Show (live)” (ESPN2, June 19-22): 86,000 (41,000 adults 18-49)
  • “MLB Network’s Intentional Talk” (ESPN2, June 14-16): 69,000 (33,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Nacion ESPN” (ESPN2, June 19 5-6 p.m.): 61,000 (23,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Jalen & Jacoby” (ESPN2, June 19-20 & 23 late night): 130,000 (80,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Best of Mike & Mike in the Morning” (ESPN2, Late June 20 & 22 5 a.m.): 71,000 (34,000 adults 18-49)
  • “NFL Live” (ESPN2, June 19-20): 160,000 (78,000 adults 18-49)
  • “NBA: The Jump” (ESPN2, June 19-20 & 23): 195,000 (93,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Sportsnation” (ESPN2, June 20 & 23): 228,000 (127,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN2, June 19-23 10 a.m.): 140,000 (61,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN2, June 19-23 11 a.m.): 128,000 (54,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN2, June 23 10 p.m.): 144,000 (59,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN2, June 19-22 11 p.m.): 254,000 (132,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN2, June 19-21 midnight): 206,000 (118,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN2, June 19 1 a.m.): 166,000 (96,000 adults 18-49)

ESPNU

ESPNU Top 25 (and Select) Programs

ESPNU ratings for June 19-25, 2017
Click on image grid for larger view

In total viewership for its entire week in Prime Time (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.), ESPNU is up +21 percent (58,000 vs. 48,000) from one week earlier and up +87 percent (58,000 vs. 31,000) from the same week one year ago (June 20-26, 2016).

In total viewership for its entire week in Total Day (6 a.m. to 5:59 a.m.), ESPNU is up +17 percent (35,000 vs. 30,000) from one week earlier and up +6 percent (35,000 vs. 33,000) from the same week one year ago (June 20-26, 2016).

ESPNU’s daily show viewership averages for the week:

  • “Dan Le Batard Show” (ESPNU, June 19-23): 58,000 (34,000 adults 18-49)

Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research

About Douglas Pucci

Douglas Pucci is a contributor to Programming Insider and blogger at Son of the Bronx.