Ratings Roundup: 3.7 Million Viewers Flock to 104th Indy 500 on NBC, 2.1 Million to UEFA Champions League Final on TUDN

Ratings Roundup: 3.7 Million Viewers Flock to 104th Indy 500 on NBC, 2.1 Million to UEFA Champions League Final on TUDN By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor

Tuesday, August 25, 2020 - 9:00 am

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Ratings roundup is a rundown of rating news from the past week and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week's edition, this year's Indy 500 makes noise in its first August slot, Univision's TUDN sees favorable numbers for simulcast of UEFA Champions League Final, and more.

104th Indy 500 Finishes Second in Race for Most-Watched INDYCAR Telecast

NBC Sports' presentation of the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday from Indianapolis Motor Speedway averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 3.737 million viewers, making it NBC Sports' second-most watched INDYCAR race on record and NBC's second-most watched sports event since January, according to Fast National Data from Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.

Sunday's race was the first-ever Indy 500 to take place in August, following 103 runnings in May, and the first Greatest Spectacle in Racing to run without spectators. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's Takuma Sato won his second Indy 500 under caution following a late-race duel with Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon.

Following are additional viewership highlights from Sunday's Indy 500 (2:31-5:45 pm ET), which faced uncommon competition from the NBA, PGA TOUR and NASCAR:

The TAD of 3.737 million viewers is NBC Sports' second-most watched INDYCAR race on record behind only last year's Indy 500 the first ever on NBC which averaged a TAD of 5.489 million viewers and was up 11% vs. the 2018 race on ABC (4.913 million TV-only). Last year's race did not face any significant sports competition.

TV-only coverage of the race peaked at 4.641 million TV-only viewers towards for the race's conclusion (5:30-5:45 pm ET).

Sunday's race is NBC Sports' second-most watched sporting event since an NFL Divisional Playoff game on Jan. 11 (Min-SF, 30.2 million).

The 104th Indianapolis 500 is also the most-watched motorsports race to take place in August in three years, since a NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol (2017, 3.838 million). It delivered a 2.29 household rating.

Across NBC Sports streaming platforms, the 104th Indianapolis 500 averaged an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 17,800 viewers, making it the second-most streamed INDYCAR race on record, behind only last year's Indy 500 in May (45,600).

Indianapolis delivered a local rating of 24.9 to lead all markets.

Following are the Top 10 local markets for Sunday's Indy 500:

Indianapolis (24.9)

Cincinnati (4.1)

Columbus/Las Vegas (4.1)

Nashville (3.8)

Hartford-New Haven (3.7)

Milwaukee/West Palm Beach (3.6)

Sacramento-Stockton/Tampa-St. Petersburg (3.3)

TUDN's UEFA Champions League Final Simulcast Averages More Than 2 Million Viewers

Univision's TUDN delivered the highest-rated UEFA Champions League final in five years as 2.05 million Total Viewers 2 and 1.13 million Adults 18-49 tuned in to see German side Bayern M nchen walk away the 2019/2020 champion. The performance caps off a streak which saw TUDN draw the most-viewed Round of 16, Quarter-Final and Semi-Final ever for the property in the U.S.

Airing from 3-5 p.m. ET on Univision and TUDN, the match peaked with 2.63 million Total Viewers 2 and 1.33 million Adults 18-49 from 4:30-5 p.m. ET. The thrilling 1-0 finish is the fourth most-viewed final ever with Total Viewers 2 regardless of language, and the No. 1 rated on Spanish-language television of all-time with Total Viewers 2 and Adults 18-49 in the U.S. Compared to 2018/2019, this year's final saw a 41 percent and 52 percent increase in viewership with Total Viewers 2 and Adults 18-49, respectively, on Univision's networks.

Since the UEFA Champions League restart on August 7, Univision's TUDN has set the following viewership marks:

Final

No.1 ever in Spanish-Language Paris Saint-Germain vs. Bayern Averages 2.05 million Total Viewers 2 and 1.13 million Adults 18-49

Semi-Final

No. 11 ever regardless of language Olympique Lyonnais vs. FC Bayern 963,000 Total Viewers 2 and 501,000 Adults 18-49

No. 2 ever regardless of language RB Leipzig vs. Paris St.-Germain 879,000 Total Viewers 2

Quarter-Final

No. 1 ever regardless of language Barcelona vs. Bayern 1.36 million Total Viewers 2 and 630,000 Adults 18-49

No. 2 ever regardless of language Manchester City vs. Lyon 1.18 million Total Viewers 2

Round of 16

No. 1 ever regardless of language FC Barcelona vs. Napoli 967,000 Total Viewers 2

Odds and Ends: NBA Draft Lottery, MLS Is Back Tournament

Thursday's NBA Draft Lottery averaged a 1.5 rating and 2.25 million viewers on ESPN, down 48% in ratings and 49% in viewership from last year, when Zion Williamson was in the draft pool (2.9, 4.43M), but down a more modest 6% and 7% respectively from 2018 (1.6, 2.42M). The telecast ranks as the least-watched NBA Draft Lottery since at least 2007. (SportsMediaWatch)

The MLS averaged 200,000 viewers for its tournament (47 games) across Fox, ESPN, FS1, and ESPN2 from July 8-Aug. 11, which is well below what a normal MLS regular season would average. The Orlando City-Timbers championship game on Aug. 11 averaged 365,000 viewers on ESPN, which is below what a typical MLS Cup or MLS All-Star Game normally averages. The title game did have strong competition from the NBA and NHL (including five overtimes from Blue Jackets-Lightning). The high mark for the MLS Is Back Tournament was 587,000 viewers for Atlanta United-Red Bulls on July 11 (the lone game on big Fox).

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2020/08/25/ratings-roundup-3-7-million-vie...
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