Ratings Roundup: WNBA on ESPN Earns Most-Watched Opener in Eight Years; CBS Sees Highest-Rated NWSL Match in History By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Thursday, July 30, 2020 - 9:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
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 WNBA got off to a hot start on ESPN, the NWSL concluded their bubble season with the highest-rated match in league history, NBC Sports' Premier League coverage hits new high in four years, MLB Opening Day on ESPN reaches the largest audience ever, and much more.
WNBA Generates Most-Watched Opener Since 2012
ESPN's WNBA opening weekend coverage (July 25 and 26) tipped the season off strong with Saturday's opener between the Los Angeles Sparks and Phoenix Mercury on ABC, becoming the league's most-watched opener on the ESPN family of networks since 2012 (average of 539,000 viewers). ESPN's four-game opening slate averaged 401,000 viewers across ESPN and ABC, up 63% over the 2019 WNBA regular season average on ESPN's Networks.
In addition to achieving a multi-year high, ABC's viewership for Saturday's Los Angeles Sparks vs. Phoenix Mercury match-up (3 p.m. ET) was up 19% from last year's season opener on ABC. The game peaked during the 3:45-4 p.m. quarter hour at 617,000 viewers and saw its strongest numbers in the following markets:
West Palm Beach (1.3)
Atlanta, Kansas City & Tulsa (1.0)
Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News & Phoenix (.9)
ABC's Sunday telecast between the Chicago Sky and the Las Vegas Aces (3 p.m.) averaged 433,000 viewers; the close game led to a peak audience of as 646,000 viewers watched in the final five minutes of the Sky's victory (5:15-5:20 p.m.).
ESPN's Saturday telecast between the Seattle Storm and New York Liberty (noon) averaged 419,000 viewers, making it the most watched season opener on ESPN since 2016. The game peaked in the 12:30-12:45 p.m. quarter hour with 526,000 viewers. Top performing markets include:
Seattle-Tacoma (1.2)
Jacksonville- N. Brunswick (1)
Birmingham (.9)
Sunday's match-up between the Connecticut Sun and the Minnesota Lynx on ESPN averaged 202,000 viewers.
NWSL Final Becomes Highest-Rated Match in League History
According to SportsMediaWatch, Sunday's Houston-Chicago NWSL Challenge Cup final averaged a 0.44 rating and 653,000 viewers on CBS, marking the highest rated and most-watched telecast in league history. The previous high was set by the tournament opener on CBS last month, which averaged a 0.37 and 572,000. Prior to this year, no NWSL match had ever exceeded 190,000 viewers.
Compared to last year's NWSL final, which aired on ESPN on an NFL Sunday, viewership jumped 293% from 166,000.
Only one MLS match all season has averaged a larger audience than Sunday's final, Nashville-Atlanta on the opening weekend of play in February (756K).
For the weekend, Houston-Chicago ranked second among soccer broadcasts behind the Manchester United-Leicester City English Premier League Championship Sunday match on NBC (0.50, 750K).
Premier League Hits New High on NBC
NBC Sports' presentation of the longest Premier League season ever - spanning 352 days due to the coronavirus pandemic - concluded this past Sunday, July 26 as the most-watched Premier League season in four years, according to official national data provided by Nielsen and digital data from Adobe Analytics.
NBC Sports Group averaged a Total Audience Delivery of 462,000 viewers per match window for the 2019-20 season - marking the highest average Premier League viewership since 2015-16, and up 1% from last year (457,000) (does not include Spanish-language telecasts or NBC Sports Gold/Peacock streaming). Prior to the shutdown in mid-March, viewership was pacing 4% ahead of last season.
The five Championship Sunday matches on television registered a combined Total Audience Delivery of 1.7 million viewers (does not include the five matches streamed on NBC Sports Gold/Peacock).
Premier League Viewership Highlights include:
Manchester United's 2-0 win over Manchester City on Sunday, March 8 posted a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) average of 1.76 million viewers across all platforms - NBC, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and Telemundo - to rank as the most-watched live Premier League match in U.S. history.
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app delivered 925.3 million live streaming minutes - the most all time - during the 2019-20 season. In addition, four of the 10 most-streamed Premier League matches of all time in the U.S. took place in 2019-20.
NBCSN registered a Total Audience Delivery average of 1.01 million viewers for the Aug. 11 Manchester United-Chelsea match - ranking as the most-watched opening weekend Premier League cable match ever in the U.S. and the most-watched cable match in four years.
New Year's Day Premier League coverage set viewership milestones on NBCSN as Arsenal-Manchester United became NBCSN's most-watched weekday match ever (721,000 viewers). NBCSN also delivered the most-watched New Year's Day Premier League coverage ever, averaging 492,000 viewers across four matches.
NBCSN's weekday afternoon matches during the Premier League's Project Restart averaged 315,000 viewers - up 32% from weekday matches this season prior to the March shutdown (239,000), and 45% above the full 2018-19 season weekday afternoon average. In addition, since June 17, NBCSN televised four of the six most-watched weekday Premier League matches since 2014 (excluding holidays).
Premier League highlights on NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and the NBC Sports channel on YouTube, and NBC Sports Soccer content across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook this season generated more than 200
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
04/05/2024
NEW YORK As the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month kicks off in May, Nielsen has released an extensive new report diving into their media habits with data sh...
04/05/2024
PHILADELPHIA As National Military Appreciation Month gets underway, Comcast has announced several new initiatives to help veterans, service members, and their f...
04/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced a tentative agenda for the May Open Commission Meeting scheduled...
04/05/2024
The Broadband Forum has announced major enhancements to key 5G convergence standards that the group said will help advance next-generation applications, improve...
04/05/2024
Spotify Wrapped Campaign Spot Graded With DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Blackmagic Design today announced that Colorist M...
04/05/2024
Three Boston Conservatory at Berklee Alums Nominated for Tony Awards An additional eight alums and two current students performed in nominated productions.
...
03/05/2024
An innovative learning tool to help media and civil society better understand ho...
03/05/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 21: (L-R) Actors K stutis Cic nas and Greta Grinevi i t , Director Marija Kavtaradze and Producer Marija Razgute attend the 2023 Sunda...
03/05/2024
If you aren't familiar with Danny Ocean's music, it's only a matter ...
03/05/2024
Spotify has an unwavering commitment to supporting emerging artists across all genres, to helping them launch and thrive in their careers, and to connecting the...
03/05/2024
Como uno de los sonidos de mayor expansi n en el mundo, la M sica Mexicana va m ...
03/05/2024
As one of the fastest-growing sounds worldwide, M sica Mexicana is more than jus...
03/05/2024
NEW YORK FuboTV reported that it lost 110,000 subs in Q1 2024 but it exceeded its guidance for the quarter with double digit year-over-year increases across key...
03/05/2024
Only 3 Weeks Left To Enter The Creative Industries Most Award
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Creativepool is giving a last call to the creative i...
03/05/2024
WePlay Studios Transforms the Future of Live Event Storytelling with AJA Gear
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
By 2032, the esports market is expec...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Shannon Bream, Fox News Sunday anchor and chief legal correspondent, sat for a keynote chat at The Business of TV News, with Tom Umstead, senior co...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Asked how important is local news, Martha Raddatz, who has covered foreign conflicts for decades and moderated presidential debates for ABC News, s...
03/05/2024
Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management have made a $26 billion cash offer fo...
03/05/2024
CBS announced its 2024-2025 primetime schedule, which features the new dramas NCIS: Origins, Matlock and Watson, and new comedies Poppa's House and Georgie ...
03/05/2024
Sports-focused streaming service Fubo said it reduced its red ink in the first quarter, despite losing 110,000 subscribers since the end of the year....
03/05/2024
Walmart is reportedly about to release a new 4K streaming box/smart speaker hybrid device for Google TV that could retail for as low as $50, according to a repo...
03/05/2024
Enhancements to its Delivery Workspace solution provide increased content delivery robustness and security
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: May 3, 2024
Enha...
03/05/2024
According to reports, if the bid is successful, Sony would be the significant majority shareholder of the new private company
By Jenny Priestley
Published: M...
03/05/2024
Located in Manchesters Spinningfields district, the course aims to equip students with the skills, knowledge and industry insight for a career in the creative s...
03/05/2024
Lightbridge has created a new Cine Reflect Lighting System kit, dedicated to enabling artistic lighting with consideration of today's productivity practical...
03/05/2024
Broadcast media systems integrator BeckTV and Lawo worked together on a large-scale AES67 build of radio control rooms at KPBS, San Diego's NPR and PBS memb...
03/05/2024
Raleigh, NC, April 12, 2024 SmallHD announces PageOS 6, a powerful software update free for owners of SmallHD monitors, featuring increased functionality, exp...
03/05/2024
SmallHD announces the Quantum 32 a new 31.5 OLED monitor designed to provide reference HDR/SDR images for post-production final color grading, as well as cri...
03/05/2024
By 2032, the esports market is expected to grow to $9.29 billion, bolstered by a global player count and fan following that both continue to climb. The 2023 Lea...
03/05/2024
Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV (CTV), today announced that the 11th edition of the Amagi Global FAST Rep...
03/05/2024
Riedel Communications today announced that Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) is relying on a media and intercom network based on Riedel technology for the renewal of...
03/05/2024
Broadpeak , a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, announced t...
03/05/2024
Media technology innovator Limecraft will exhibit the latest updates to its online platform on stand G79 at the 15-16 May 2024 Media Production & Technology Sho...
03/05/2024
Audio interface specialist Prism Sound is partnering with console manufacturer Solid State Logic, professional monitor manufacturer PMC and acoustic panel and d...
03/05/2024
Intinor, Sweden's leading developer of products and solutions for high-quality video over the internet, is set to join forces with its UK partner Zest Techn...
03/05/2024
NAKIVO Inc., a fast-growing software company dedicated to protecting physical, virtual, cloud, and SaaS environments, announced its Q1 2024 financial results to...
03/05/2024
Hiltron Communications announces an addition to its range of satellite communication products and systems: a field-upgradable motorisation kit specifically desi...
03/05/2024
Visit LiveU at Stand D30
With this year an exceptional one for major sporting events alongside multiple, key elections, the power and flexibility of LiveU'...
03/05/2024
Agile Content, the leader in the development of technology and solutions for the provision of television services over the Internet, announces Koldo Unanue as i...
03/05/2024
Eight co-signers representing streaming services, pay TV operators and public interest groups have sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging their Committee...
03/05/2024
BOSTON Brightcove has announced that it has implemented Amazon Q Business, a new generative AI assistant on Amazon Web Services (AWS)....
03/05/2024
NEW YORK CBS has declared that it will finish the 2023-24 season as Americas Most-Watched Network in primetime for the 16th consecutive season....
03/05/2024
A new survey indicates that U.S. businesses and consumers had an overall positive attitude towards their technology spending plans in the first quarter of 2024,...
03/05/2024
Sony and Apollo Global Management have sent an offer letter to Paramount Global's board of directors making an $26 billion all cash offer for Paramount Glob...
03/05/2024
EMG / Gravity Media has appointed Charlie Cubbon chief operating officer (COO) and Jamie Hindhaugh regional CEO for the U.K., U.S., Australia and the Middle Eas...
03/05/2024
Final 2024 Season Games to Air Saturdays on WRAL at 10:30am in May, Championship on June 1
Taping for the final episodes of the 2024 season of WRAL-TV's Br...
03/05/2024
Estrella MediaCo said it is expanding its connected TV portfolio by launching three new channels with Curiosity that will first appear on Samsung TV Plus....
Ratings Roundup: WNBA on ESPN Earns Most-Watched Opener in Eight Years; CBS Sees Highest-Rated NWSL Match in History By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
