Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week's edition, more than 13 million people tuned into the first round of the NFL Draft across ESPN platforms; USA Sports delivers most watched volleyball match in LOVB history with more than 100,000 viewers; and more.
First Round of the 2026 NFL Draft Delivers 13.2 Million Viewers Across ESPN Platforms, Generates Third Most-Watched Day 1 Ever
Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft (Thursday, April 23) earned the third most-watched audience ever, averaging 13.2 million viewers on all linear and digital platforms including ESPN, ABC, NFL Network, ESPN Deportes, Disney+, Hulu, the ESPN App, NFL+, YouTube, TikTok and X. That figure is down 3% from the comparable figure from the 2025 draft, but is up 8% from Day 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Overall, TV coverage of the 2026 NFL Draft averaged 6.6 million viewers across all networks over the three-day event - down 12% from 2025's 7.5 million, but still the third-most-watched draft since the league adopted its current three-day format in 2010. Only the 2020 draft, held virtually during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, drew more, with a record 8.4 million viewers.
The seventh edition of The Pat McAfee Show Draft Spectacular delivered more than 54 million total minutes consumed across YouTube, TikTok, X and the ESPN App on Day 1, along with 2.2 million total views.
NBA Playoffs Return to NBC Sports Delivers Big Viewership Gains Over First Three Nights
NBC Sports' presentation of the NBA Playoffs for the first time in 24 years delivered strong viewership gains and multiple milestones across NBC and Peacock during the first week of coverage, powered by a star studded postseason featuring stars such as LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Nikola Joki , Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyana, Jalen Brunson, and more.
NBC Sports' first six NBA Playoff games from Sunday, April 19, through Tuesday, April 21, averaged 4.9 million viewers, up 38% vs. comparable coverage last year and the most-watched for the first Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday nights of the playoffs since 1994.
Following are highlights for NBC Sports' first three nights of NBA Playoffs coverage* (all viewership is Total Audience Delivery across NBC and Peacock unless noted):
Tuesday
Trail Blazers-Spurs Game 2 (8:00-10:46 pm ET) peaked at 6.7 million viewers tying it with Magic-Pistons Game 1 on Sunday night for NBC Sports' best viewership peak of the playoffs thus far. The game also averaged 4.6 million viewers, up 105% from the game in the same window last year.
Rockets-Lakers Game 2 (10:46pm-12:56am ET) peaked at 5.8 million viewers and averaged 5.2 million, up 27% vs. comparable game last year and ranking as the most-watched First Round Game 2 since 2011.
The two-game average of 4.9 million viewers ranks as the most-watched day of First Round Game 2s since 1998.
Monday
Hawks-Knicks Game 2 (8:00-10:52 pm ET) peaked at 6.1 million viewers and averaged 4.7 million viewers, up 43% vs. the comparable game last season and making it the second-most-watched First Round Game 2 since 2012, behind only NBC Sports' Rockets-Lakers on Tuesday night.
Timberwolves-Nuggets Game 2 (10:52pm-1:12am ET) peaked at 5.0 million viewers and averaged 4.4 million, up 27% compared to the game in the same window last year and the most-watched First Round Game 2 in the late primetime window since 2012.
The two games combined to average 4.6 million viewers, up 35% from Day 3 of the NBA Playoffs last year.
Through its first four games, NBC Sports averaged 5.0 million viewers on NBC/Peacock, the most for the opening Sunday and Monday nights of the NBA Playoffs since 1995.
Sunday
Trail Blazers-Spurs Game 1 (9:10-11:45 pm ET) peaked at 6.5 million viewers and averaged 5.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched game of the 2026 NBA Playoffs to date and up 35% vs. the comparable playoff game last year.
Magic-Pistons Game 1 (6:39-9:10 pm ET), which averaged 5.0 million viewers, peaked at 6.7 million viewers, tying it with Trail Blazers-Spurs Game 2 on Tuesday night for NBC Sports' best viewership peak of the playoffs thus far.
The two games combined to power NBC to a Sunday night win in all key demos.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week's edition, more than 13 million people tuned into the first round of the NFL Draft across ESPN platforms; USA Sports delivers most watched volleyball match in LOVB history with more than 100,000 viewers; and more.
