Ratings Roundup: As Canadian Fans Carry 2019 NBA Finals, the Tennis Channel's Coverage of the French Open Jumps 47% from 2018 By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor
Friday, June 7, 2019 - 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, the NBA Finals resonates more with fans north of the border, the French Open has taken a significant jump since last year's tournament, the 2019 Stanley Cup final has slowly declined, the first Indy 500 on NBC saw a double-digit increase, Univision delivers the two most-watched soccer matches of the year and the most U.S. viewers of the UEFA Champions League, the WNBA received a massive bump for Opening Day, ESPN's presentation of the Women's College World Series completed a clean sweep of positive ratings throughout the postseason, Sunday Night Baseball continues to cruise with positive numbers, and ESPN's studio shows saw an uptick in the month of May.
Fans in U.S. Not Intrigued in This Year's Raptors-Warriors Matchup
Viewers of this year's NBA Finals have been quite one-sided. With their first-ever trip, the Toronto Raptors continue to set audience records on TSN. According to SportsMediaWatch, Wednesday's Raptors-Warriors NBA Finals Game 3 earned a 7.8 rating and 13.10 million viewers on ABC, down 25% in ratings and 27% in viewership from last year (10.4, 17.85M) and down 31% and 35% respectively from 2017 (11.3, 20.10M), both of which were Warriors-Cavaliers matchups.
Toronto's win tied the lowest NBA Finals rating since Spurs-Cavaliers Game 4 in 2007 (6.5), matching Magic-Lakers Game 1 in 2009. It was the least-watched Finals game since Magic-Lakers Game 1 (13.04M) and the least-watched Game 3 since Spurs-Cavaliers (9.49M).
All three games of this year's finals have hit at least a ten-year low in ratings and viewership.
In Canada, Game 3 had 3.8 million viewers across Sportsnet and Citytv. If one were to include the Canadian audience, Game 2 would combine for approximately 16.9 million viewers - down from the past two years, but ahead of the U.S.-only audience in 2016 and 2002-14.
In the U.S., Game 3 had a 4.6 rating in adults 18-49 - down 28% from last year (6.4) and down 36% from 2017 (7.2). The 4.6 is the lowest for any finals game in the demo since Game 4 in 2007 (4.0). It drew a 3.8 in adults 18-34, down 32% from last year (5.6) and down 43% from 2017 (6.7). As in 18-49, ratings in 18-34 were the lowest for any finals game since 2007.
Game 3 hit series-lows in ratings, viewership, adults 18-34 and adults 18-49.
The theme was the same for Sunday night's Game 2, attracting an average audience of 4.3 million viewers on TSN, CTV2, and RDS, making it the most-watched NBA game on record in Canada.
More than 10 million unique Canadian viewers tuned in to watch some part of the game. Audiences peaked at nearly 6 million viewers at 10:44 p.m. ET in the game's final minute as the Warriors secured the 109-104 victory. In Toronto, the game had a share of 68% on TSN and CTV2, meaning that more than two-thirds of all people watching television in Toronto on Sunday night were tuned in to the game.
Additionally, TSN's live streaming coverage of Game 2 attracted nearly 100,000 video starts across the network's digital platforms, including TSN.ca and the TSN app.
In Game 1, Sportsnet reached 7.4 million Canadians and attracted an average audience of 3.3 million viewers. Audience levels peaked at 4.1 million viewers at 11:35 p.m. ET, just as the Raptors clinched the victory.
Tennis Channel Surges to 47% Jump from 2018 Tournament
According to Awful Announcing, the 2019 French Open is performing well compared to last year's event. The Tennis Channel has averaged 260,000 viewers for last week's first week of the event, a 47% boost over last year.
The progress could relate to platforms rising subscription total. Ahead of last year's tournament, the network's Nielsen coverage estimates rose from an estimated 44,361,000 homes in February 2017 to an estimated 55,487,000 in April 2018 thanks to a big March 2018 jump. The last coverage estimate from a full Nielsen report is 54,901,000 in September 2018 and then 61 million homes in January 2019.
Stanley Cup Final Continues Slow Decline
According to SMW, the Stanley Cup Final reached highs in the first time the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues squared off, but has slowly dipped in each proceeding game.
In last Monday's Game 1, NBC Sports earned a 2.9 rating and 5.25 million viewers on NBC, per Nielsen fast-nationals - flat in ratings and up 1% in viewership from Capitals-Golden Knights last year, which aired opposite an NBA conference final Game 7 (2.9, 5.20M), and up a tick and 8% respectively from Predators-Penguins in 2017 (2.8, 4.85M).
Boston's comeback win ranked as the most-watched Stanley Cup Final opener in four years (2015 Blackhawks-Lightning: 5.55M) and the third-most watched since 1997 (Red Wings-Flyers: 6.37M). Bruins-Blackhawks in 2013 holds the top spot (6.36M), followed by Blackhawks-Lightning in '15. Including the streaming audience of 115,000 - up 37% from last year - the game had an audience of 5.37 million.
Last Wednesday's Game 2 delivered a 2.0 rating and 3.39 million viewers on NBCSN, flat in ratings and down 7% in viewership from Capitals-Golden Knights last year (2.0, 3.65M), but up 11% and 6% respectively from 2017 Predators-Penguins (1.8, 3.18M). The Blues' overtime win, which peaked with 3.95 million viewers from 9:45-10 PM ET, delivered the ninth-largest Stanley Cup Final audience on cable since 2002. Game 2 viewership fell 36% from Monday's opener, a bigger drop than last year (30%) or 2017 (34%).
The Bruins 7-2 slobber-knoc
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Ratings Roundup: As Canadian Fans Carry 2019 NBA Finals, the Tennis Channel's Coverage of the French Open Jumps 47% from 2018 By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor 
