Ratings Roundup: Championship Week Brings High Ratings For ESPN; YES, Yankees Continue Record-Setting Spring By Brian Harris
Tuesday, March 20, 2018 - 10:11 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this edition, ESPN see soaring ratings thanks to conference championships and the highest-rated cable boxing match so far this year, the first two days of March Madness ratings are in, the New York Yankees continue to set spring training ratings records, the PGA Tour sees it highest third-round ratings in over a decade, the Toronto Raptors recently had their highest-rated Canadian game ever and ratings continue to soar for the Nashville Predators.
Championship Week Brings High Ratings For ESPN
Championship week in the world of college basketball turned in a ratings boom for ESPN as the network had the most-watched conference quarterfinal, semifinal and championship games of any network showing conference tournaments, averaging 1.37 million viewers a game.
Leading the way ratings-wise for ESPN were the ACC, Big 12 and SEC championship games, with the battle for the ACC crown between UNC and Virginia drawing 3,435,000 viewers, making it the most-watched game of the entire conference championship week, according to Nielsen. 2,852,000 people watched West Virginia and Kansas play for the Big 12 title, the higher number in 16 years and the second most-watched Big 12 championship game ever while the SEC championship game between Kentucky and Tennessee was the highest-rated game on the Sunday of championship week with 2,553,000 people turning in to watch.
Between ESPN and ESPN2, the network aired the 20 most watched conference championship games along with the most watched 139 games overall, including the regular season.
It wasn't just college basketball bring ratings heights to ESPN as its March 10 Top Rank on ESPN boxing telecast drew its highest ratings of the year so far as well as featuring two of the three top-rated cable boxing matches of the year so far. The main event which saw the undefeated Oscar Valdez successfully defend his WBO featherweight championship averaged a 0.7 metered market rating, while the co-main event featuring Andy Vences and Erick De Leon averaged a 0.8 metered market rating, according to Nielsen.
First Two Days OF NCAA Tournament Slightly Higher Than Last Year
The ratings for the first two full days of the NCAA tournament were releases with no real difference compared to last year's numbers for the opening days.
According to SportsMediaWatch, the first half of the Thursday primetime games grossed 10.37 million viewers across CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV, ever so slightly up from last year's number of 10.32 million and only up 4% from 2016, which was 9.96 million. The heist rating of the day came from the Kentucky-Davidson game, which drew a 3.5 rating, with 5.9 million viewers tuning in, a 40% increase from last year.
The Friday numbers stayed just as level for the most part, save for the historic win by UMBC over Virginia on TNT, which got a 2.0 rating and drew 3.53 million viewers on TNT,a 49% ratings and 54% viewership increase from last year at that time slot, according to SportsMediaWatch. Those rating were offset, however, by the combined audiences of CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV., which was only 9.6 million, down 1.1% from last year and 1.4% from 2016 .
New York Yankees, YES Network Continue Record Spring Training Ratings Run
Ratings-wise, the Yankees are currently on pace to have their highest-rated spring training in nine years and are just currently setting record rating after record rating.
The March 8 game against the Philadelphia Phillies was the highest-rated weekday afternoon spring training game in network history, with a 1.39 average HH rating, beating the record that the team set just six days prior.
The game was also the highest-rated sports telecast in New York that day, beating out the Golden State Warriors-San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics-Minnesota Timberwolves games on TNT, Duke-Notre Dame,North Carolina-Miami and Boston College-Clemson on ESPN, New York Rangers-Tampa Bay Lightning on MSG,Butler-Seton Hall and St. John's-Xavier on FS1, New Jersey Devils-Winnipeg Jets on MSG+ and New York Islanders-Edmonton Oilers on MSG+2.
Two days later, against the cross-town rivals the New York Mets, the Yanks scored an average 2.57 TV household rating, making it the second-most watched spring training game in YES' history as well as the highest-rated, most-watched and most-viewed live sports program on cable in the New York market since the NBA All-Star Game back on Feb. 18.
The PGA Scores Highest Ratings For A Saturday Round In Over A Decade, Continues Ratings Uptick
Driven by the sudden resurgence of Tiger Woods at last weekend's Valspar Championship, NBC's coverage scored high ratings, most notably the third round, which had an overnight rating 3.26, making it the highest-rated PGA Tour third-round telecast on any broadcast network since the 2006 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
The NBC-owned Golf Channel also show high ratings during their coverage of the event, with their third-round lead-in coverage earned a 1.07 overnight, which is the highest-rated Golf Channel telecast at this event on-record and since the 2013 Deutsche Bank Championship.
The streaming minutes numbers were also hgh as well for both Golf Channel Digital as well as NBC Sports Digital, as by the end of round three, nearly 5.5 million minutes were streamed on Golf Channel and NBC Sports Digital, which was up 612% from last year.
The Tiger-led ratings uptick for the PGA rolled into the Arnold Palmer Invitational this past weekend and Sunday's final round delivered a 3.6 overnight rating, up 136% from last year. Combine
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...
06/05/2026
Polands Miecznik-class frigates are part of the largest contract in Polish shipbuilding history. (Image Credit: PGZ Stocznia Wojenna)...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Riedel Communications today announced the expansion of its leadership structure as part of a strategic initiative to strengthen both its operational management ...
06/05/2026
For nearly three decades, Veteran Production Sound Mixer and Five-time Emmy Award Winner Dirk Sciarrotta has helped define the sonic identity of the long-runnin...
06/05/2026
ZEISS CinCraft LensCore: Cinema Lens Looks for Compositing
Brie Clayton May 6, 2026
0 Comments
ZEISS announces the launch of CinCraft LensCore, a nove...
06/05/2026
Wisycom Solves Extreme RF Challenges Across Miles of Live Action for Gravity Med...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Narrative Entertainment has partnered with Encompass to deliver high-quality subtitling of its Great! network content using the Altitude Intelligence AI assiste...
06/05/2026
SipRadius, widely recognized for making content processing and connectivity secure and seamless, is proud to launch a dramatic new approach to AI content creati...
06/05/2026
When the broadband and media industry gathers at ANGA COM in Cologne from May 19 to 21, Big Blue Marble will be at the forefront. The international broadcast an...
06/05/2026
Cinegy GmbH, a leading developer of software-defined television technology, is proud to exhibit at MPTS for the first time. Visitors to the stand will discover ...
06/05/2026
Val Jeanty Receives 2026 Doris Duke Artist Award Jeanty, a composer, percussionist, and turntablist, is the fourth Berklee recipient of the prestigious award ...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/05/2026
When live cycling races and international marathons stretch for miles across cities and countryside, there is no margin for RF failure in live broadcast. As Chi...
06/05/2026
Oberkochen/Germany, May 5, 2026
ZEISS announces the launch of CinCraft LensCore, a novel solution for creating physically based cinematic lens looks for visual...
06/05/2026
SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 6, 2026 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced its latest broadband innovations for ANGA COM 2026, highlighting its vision for a new e...
06/05/2026
Statement from Rupert Murdoch, Chairman Emeritus, Fox Corporation on Ted Turner&...
06/05/2026
Friday 8 May on RT One and RT Player
Meet the NSPCA team caring for and protecting animals in need in this six-part series
Fly on the wall, six-part series...
06/05/2026
The race to build the world's most powerful AI factories demands networking ...
06/05/2026
How changes to proteins can alter drug interactions for new precision therapies Scripps Research team maps how chemical modifications to proteins affect drug bi...
05/05/2026
Experts from the world of academia, tech, business, politics and media convened for a Thomson Talks at the Cambridge Disinformation Summit in April. It's th...
05/05/2026
Three phones were hardwired for power and transmission to the truck; camera feat...
05/05/2026
The creative studio behind campaigns for the NBA, Fanatics Sportsbook & Casino, ...
05/05/2026
Nielsen has announced results from a co-viewing pilot program covering February&...
05/05/2026
viztrick AiDi, an on-device AI solution developed by Nippon TV, delivered global...
05/05/2026
ARRI has announced Omnibar, a battery-powered, IP65-rated multi-color LED linear...
05/05/2026
Imagine Communications has announced that France T l visions is the first broadc...
05/05/2026
The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Bell Media today announced a multiyear agreement to broadcast and stream WNBA games in Canada beginni...
05/05/2026
SVG is proud to announce Warner Bros. Discovery's Techwood Studios in Atlant...
05/05/2026
With no operator required, AutoMic workflow automates talent identification on U...
05/05/2026
A crash in 2015 set the industry back, but this winter proved that drones are he...
05/05/2026
Another year, and more proof that Asia continues to shape some of the world's most exciting new sounds. This year's RADAR artists draw from deep local r...
05/05/2026
The Austin City Limits Music Fest 2026 lineup just dropped, and this year, Spoti...
05/05/2026
New drum machine book campaign incoming
Bjooks have announced that during Superbooth 2026, they will be launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund the product...
05/05/2026
Flagship all-in-one production bundle updated
The latest version of Native Instruments' flagship virtual instrument and plug-in bundle has just been ann...
05/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host RF Testing Innovations Forum 2026, helping design engine...
05/05/2026
L3Harris provides communications, electronic warfare, sensors and mission systems that enable Virginia-class submarine crews to operate with confidence in conte...
05/05/2026
The company grew by 7.6% in net revenue and 16.3% in EBITDA, achieving a 33% inc...
05/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Ratings Roundup: Championship Week Brings High Ratings For ESPN; YES, Yankees Continue Record-Setting Spring By Brian Harris 
