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Ratings News and Notes

  • In late night for most of the U.S. on Saturday, July 1, ESPN’s live boxing telecast of the WBO World Welterweight Championship: Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn in the “Battle of Brisbane” from Australia generated a total audience delivery (television and streaming) of 3.1 million viewers across the ESPN and ESPN Deportes networks, according to Fast National ratings from Nielsen.

    The bout peaked during its final half hour with 4.4 million viewers across both networks.

    The ESPN TV-only telecast averaged a 1.6 household rating and 2.812 million viewers, making it the highest-rated and most-watched boxing telecast on cable TV since 2006. Carlos Baldomir vs. Arturo Gatti on HBO on July 22, 2006, earned a 1.6 household rating.

    Pacquiao-Horn was also the highest-rated boxing telecast on ESPN’s networks since 1995. Danell Nicholson vs. Darren Hayden on ESPN, on Dec. 21, 1995 earned a 1.7 household rating.

    Las Vegas was the telecast’s top local market with a 4.0 metered market rating, including a 5.1 rating during the main event. The top five markets also included Los Angeles (3.7), Raleigh-Durham (3.6), New Orleans (3.1), and San Diego (3.0).

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

  • The Florida Gators’ first-ever college baseball national championship in the “2017 Men’s College World Series” provided ratings gains and dividends for ESPN. For Game 2, it had a total audience delivery (factoring TV and streaming) of 2.067 million viewers on Tuesday, June 27, up 29 percent from 2016. It was the most-watched CWS Game 2 since 2012. Despite LSU’s defeat, ESPN reported that the New Orleans market earned a 20.1 rating for the game, a higher rating than every regular season college football game on ESPN in 2016 with the exception of Ole Miss-LSU.

    Despite Florida’s win, more households in the Tampa-St. Petersburg market tuned in to the Tampa Bay Rays’ MLB game vs. Pittsburgh on regional sports network Fox Sports Sun (2.8 local rating) over the College World Series (1.9). (Source: Fox Sports Sun)

  • The MLB All-Star Selection Show on ESPN on Sunday, July 2 (618,000 viewers) grew 32 percent from last year’s show (469,000 viewers on July 5, 2016) that had aired on a Tuesday night. It also was up 10 percent from the most recent All-Star Selection Show on a Sunday which was on July 5, 2015 (563,000 viewers). The show reached its best viewership since 2014’s 1.133 million.

  • Despite the large volume of activity of NBA trade deals and acquisitions at the beginning of the league’s free agency period, as well as the ESPN on-air debut of popular NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Friday, June 30 edition of SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt on ESPN (357,000 viewers from 11:33 p.m.-1:00 a.m.) declined by 27 percent from the year-ago late night SportsCenter (492,000 viewers on June 30, 2016) that had aired on a Thursday night. What also may have contributed to the depressed viewer figure was a live NBA Free Agency Special on sister network ESPN2 (306,000 viewers from 11:50 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.) that aired opposite “SportsCenter”.

  • Canadian Football League’s BC-Toronto game on ESPN2 (simulcast from Canada’s TSN) June 30 drew 180,000 viewers), up 19 percent from the year-ago comparable Friday night game (Winnipeg-Calgary on July 1, 2016: 151,000 viewers); that year-ago telecast had aired nearer to late night.

  • The college baseball Home Run Derby on ESPN2 July 1 posted 150,000 viewers, an decrease of 19 percent from the July 3, 2016 derby (186,000 viewers).

espnlogo

ESPN Top 25 (and Select) Programs

ESPN ratings for June 26-July 2, 2017
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In total viewership for its entire week in Prime Time (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.), ESPN is down -34 percent (1,064,000 vs. 1,608,000) from one week earlier and up +22 percent (1,064,000 vs. 873,000) from the same week one year ago (June 27-July 3, 2016).

In total viewership for its entire week in Total Day (6 a.m. to 5:59 a.m.), ESPN is down -17 percent (515,000 vs. 620,000) from one week earlier and down -8 percent (515,000 vs. 560,000) from the same week one year ago (June 27-July 3, 2016).

ESPN’s daily programs viewership averages for the week:

  • “First Take” (ESPN, June 26-30 10 a.m.): 476,000 (264,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Outside the Lines: First Report” (ESPN, June 26-30): 319,000 (185,000 adults 18-49)
  • “NFL Live” (ESPN, June 26-30): 285,000 (162,000 adults 18-49)
  • “NBA: The Jump” (ESPN, June 26-30): 350,000 (201,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsNation” (ESPN, June 26-30): 361,000 (218,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Highly Questionable” (ESPN, June 26-30): 434,000 (262,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Around the Horn” (ESPN, June 26-30): 476,000 (261,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Pardon the Interruption” (ESPN, June 26-30): 702,000 (348,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN, June 26-30 7 a.m.): 276,000 (141,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN, June 26-30 8 a.m.): 282,000 (144,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN, June 26-30 9 a.m.): 335,000 (176,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN, June 26-30 6 p.m.): 462,000 (269,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN, June 27-29 11 p.m.): 477,000 (230,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN, June 27-30 midnight): 386,000 (207,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter at Night” (ESPN, June 26-30 1 a.m.): 345,000 (195,000 adults 18-49)

ESPN2

ESPN2 Top 25 (and Select) Programs

ESPN2 ratings for June 26-July 2, 2017
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In total viewership for its entire week in Prime Time (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.), ESPN2 is down -36 percent (182,000 vs. 286,000) from one week earlier and down -35 percent (182,000 vs. 279,000) from the same week one year ago (June 27-July 3, 2016).

In total viewership for its entire week in Total Day (6 a.m. to 5:59 a.m.), ESPN2 is down -15 percent (131,000 vs. 155,000) from one week earlier and down -60 percent (131,000 vs. 331,000) from the same week one year ago (June 27-July 3, 2016).

ESPN2’s daily show viewership averages for the week:

  • “Mike & Mike in the Morning” (ESPN2, June 26-30): 154,000 (76,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Dan Le Batard Show (live)” (ESPN2, June 26-30): 76,000 (47,000 adults 18-49)
  • “MLB Network’s Intentional Talk” (ESPN2, June 26-30): 69,000 (31,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Nacion ESPN” (ESPN2, June 26 5-6 p.m.): 36,000 (17,000 adults 18-49)
  • “Best of Mike & Mike in the Morning” (ESPN2, Late June 26-29 5 a.m.): 41,000 (22,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN2, June 26-30 10 a.m.): 112,000 (57,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN2, June 26-30 11 a.m.): 118,000 (64,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN2, June 29-30): 206,000 (95,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN2, June 26 11 p.m.): 173,000 (92,000 adults 18-49)
  • “SportsCenter” (ESPN2, June 26 midnight): 137,000 (74,000 adults 18-49)

ESPNU

ESPNU Top 25 (and Select) Programs

ESPNU ratings for June 26-July 2, 2017
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In total viewership for its entire week in Prime Time (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.), ESPNU is down -26 percent (43,000 vs. 58,000) from one week earlier and down -30 percent (43,000 vs. 61,000) from the same week one year ago (June 27-July 3, 2016).

In total viewership for its entire week in Total Day (6 a.m. to 5:59 a.m.), ESPNU is down -14 percent (30,000 vs. 35,000) from one week earlier and down -35 percent (30,000 vs. 46,000) from the same week one year ago (June 27-July 3, 2016).

ESPNU’s daily show viewership averages for the week:

  • “Dan Le Batard Show” (ESPNU, June 26-30): 20,000 (13,000 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.