Ratings Roundup: NBC Sports Begins Last Stanley Cup Finals on Quiet Note; NBA Conference Finals Numbers Taper Off

Ratings Roundup: NBC Sports Begins Last Stanley Cup Finals on Quiet Note; NBA Conference Finals Numbers Taper Off By SVG Staff

Wednesday, June 30, 2021 - 7:30 am

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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, NBC's final Stanley Cup Final is off to a quiet start, NBA Conference Finals taper off after a hot semifinals round, NBC Sports delivers second most-watched U.S. Open Championship in five years, and more.

NBC's Stanley Cup Final Off to Quiet Start Monday's Canadiens-Lightning Stanley Cup Final Game 1 averaged a 0.8 rating and 1.57 million viewers on NBCSN (1.67 million including additional streaming data not tracked by Nielsen), down 25% in ratings and 26% in viewership from Stars-Lightning on NBC last year, which aired on a college football Saturday in September (1.1, 2.12M), but down 71% and 70% respectively from Blues-Bruins on NBC in 2019, which aired on Memorial Day (2.9, 5.25M).

Tampa Bay's win, which peaked with 1.78 million viewers, ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched Stanley Cup Final opener since 2007 (Senators-Ducks: 0.5, 769K), with the caveat that all-but-one of the previous games aired on NBC, rather than NBCSN. The last opener to air on NBCSN (then Versus) was Penguins-Red Wings in 2008, which drew a 1.2 and 2.35 million.

Through Game 1, the Stanley Cup Playoffs has averaged 924,000 viewers across the NBC TV and digital platforms, up 7% from last year in the bubble (864K). By comparison, the 2019 posteason averaged 1.18 million entering the Cup Final (averages through Game 1 were not available). Figures for Friday's Islanders-Lightning semifinal Game 7 were not immediately available. (SportsMediaWatch)

Update on NBA Playoff Numbers Monday's Clippers-Suns NBA Western Conference Finals Game 5 averaged 5.74 million viewers on ESPN, up 20% from last year's clinching Nuggets-Lakers Game 5 in the bubble on TNT, which aired on a college football Saturday (4.79M), and the most-watched game of the conference finals thus far. For the postseason, the Clippers' win ranks third behind a pair of semifinal Game 7s (Bucks-Nets: 6.91M; Hawks-Sixers: 6.16M) and ahead Warriors-Lakers in the Play-in Tournament (5.62M).

Game 5 ranks as the most-watched NBA telecast on ESPN since the clinching Warriors-Blazers Game 4 in the 2019 Western Conference Finals (7.79M), and the network's top game that did not include the Warriors or LeBron James since a Thunder-Clippers second round game in 2014 (6.40M).

Saturday's Game 4 of the series averaged a 2.8 rating and 5.54 million viewers, up a tick in ratings and 20% in viewership from Lakers-Nuggets opposite Thursday Night Football last year (2.7, 4.60M) but down 40% and 29% respectively from the aforementioned 2019 Warriors-Blazers clincher (4.7, 7.79M).

Shifting to the East, Sunday's Bucks-Hawks Game 3 averaged a 3.1 rating and 5.60 million viewers on TNT - up 55% in ratings and 47% in viewership from Celtics-Heat on a college football Saturday last year (2.0, 3.81M) but down 16% and 9% respectively from Bucks-Raptors in 2019 (3.7, 6.16M). The Bucks' Game 2 rout of the Hawks Friday night averaged a mere 2.0 and 3.70 million.

As for the Conference Semifinals, ESPN, TNT, and EBC garnered 3.5 million viewers an increased of 39% from 2020. On the East Coast, a pair of Game 7s provided the most-viewed payed off this season, with Bucks vs. Nets on TNT at 6.9 million viewers and Hawks vs. 76ers on TNT at 6.7 million viewers. Global viewership on NBA League Pass is also up 22% from last year. (Twitter)

NBC Sports Delivers Second Most-Watched U.S. Open Championship in Five Years NBC Sports' comprehensive coverage of the 121st U.S. Open Championship at Torrey Pines in San Diego, Calif., delivered the second most-watched U.S. Open in five years, one of many viewership milestones for the championship across NBC and GOLF Channel last week.

Final round coverage on NBC (12-8:36 p.m. ET) averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 5.7 million viewers, up 76% vs. 2020, marking the network's most-watched golf telecast since the 2018 Tour Championship, won by Tiger Woods. Viewership peaked at nearly 9 million viewers (8.932 million) in the 8-8:15 p.m. ET quarter hour, as Jon Rahm defeated Louis Oosthuizen by one shot for his first career major championship win.

Coverage across NBC and GOLF Channel - which totaled nearly 40 hours across the four days - averaged a TAD of 3.1 million viewers, up 43% vs. 2020 to rank as the second most-watched U.S. Open in five years only behind the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, which featured Tiger Woods in contention for all four days. Early round coverage across the NBC and GOLF Channel averaged 1.7 million viewers, also the second most-watched early rounds behind 2019.

The U.S. Open also produced viewership milestones for GOLF Channel. Friday's second-round coverage (12:30-6 p.m. ET) averaged nearly 1.4 million TV-only viewers to rank as the network's most-watched weekday telecast on record (since 2006).

Friday's primetime Live From the U.S. Open studio coverage (10 p.m. - 12 a.m. ET) averaged 247,000 viewers - up 24% vs. the comparable Friday coverage in 2020 and up 129% vs. 2019. Overall, Live From the U.S. Open primetime coverage averaged 147,000 viewers, up 32% vs. 2019. (NBC Sports)

PGA Tour Hartford Tournament Hits 19-Year High Final round coverage of the PGA Tour Hartford tournament, which stretched more than an hour into primetime, averaged 3.97 million viewers on CBS Sunday - up 30% from last year (3.07M), up 83% from 2019 (2.17M) and the largest audience for the event since 2002. The telecast, which peaked with 6.66 million viewers from 8 PM ET to the conclusion, delivered the sixth-l

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