MLS Reg. Season Has Best Cable TV Audience Yet

MLS finished the regular season on ESPN/ESPN2 with the league's best audience on cable TV since MLS' inception in '96. Meanwhile, the league's first season on NBC Sports Network was up significantly compared to the same package on Fox Soccer last season. ESPN/ESPN2 finished the season with an a ...

Tags: Media, MLS, ESPN, NBC, Fox

Sprint Cup Audience Lowest In Five Years

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this season posted its lowest viewership since the current TV deals with Fox, TNT and ESPN/ABC began in ’07. The four networks combined to average a 3.6 rating and 5.8 million viewers for 36 points races, down 5% and 11%, respectively, from last season (33 races ...

Tags: Media, NASCAR, Fox, TBS/TNT, ESPN, ABC

NFL Thanksgiving Overnights: CBS, Fox Down; NBC Hurt By Blowout

CBS led all Thanksgiving NFL telecasts with a 15.2 overnight rating for the Texans' OT win over the Lions in the early afternoon window. That figure marks CBS’ second-best Thanksgiving game since reacquiring NFL rights prior to the ’98 season. In the late afternoon slot, Fox earned a 14. ...

Luck Of The Irish: Notre Dame-USC Sets Season-Best Overnight Rati ...

ABC earned a 10.3 overnight for the Notre Dame-USC game last night, marking the best college football overnight this season. The previous high was a 7.0 rating for CBS’ Alabama-LSU matchup on Nov. 3. By comparison, the 10.3 overnight is short of CBS’ Alabama-LSU primetime matchup during ...

Thanksgiving Games Remain Draw For NFL

The NFL’s annual Thanksgiving Day games continue to be among the league’s most-viewed games each season. Last year’s two games -- Dolphins-Cowboys on CBS and Packers-Lions on Fox -- were the most-viewed regular-season games, respectively. Those games also were the top two shows on ...

Tags: Research and Ratings, Nielsen Media Research, NFL, CBS, Fox

ESPN/ABC's NASCAR Chase Audience Down

ESPN earned a 3.0 U.S. rating and 4.7 million viewers for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday from 3:00-6:30pm ET, down 25% and 30%, respectively, from last year’s finale. The season-ending race last year remains ESPN’s most-viewed NASCA ...

NBC Has Best ND TV Numbers Since '05

NBC averaged a 2.8 rating and 4.4 million viewers for its seven Notre Dame home football games this season, marking the net’s best ND package since '05. NBC was also up 69% and 67%, respectively, from a 1.7 rating and 2.6 million viewers last season, which marked the net’s lowest ND pack ...

Overnight Nielsen Ratings

ESPN earned a 2.7 overnight Nielsen rating for yesterday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup series finale from Miami-Homestead Speedway, down 27% from a 3.7 overnight for the same race last year. Meanwhile, the net’s Nationwide Series final on Saturday afternoon earned a 1.1 overnight, up from a 1.0 ...

Tags: Research and Ratings, Nielsen Media Research

NFL Audience Down Slightly Through Week 10

NFL broadcast partners are seeing a dip in their audience numbers through Week 10 this season compared to the same point last year. However, NFL games still remain the most-watched programs on TV, with game telecasts ranking as the 16 most-viewed shows on all of TV since Labor Day. PRIMETIME : ...

Tags: Media, NFL, ESPN, NBC, Fox, CBS

Overnight Nielsen Ratings

CBS led all college football telecasts over the weekend with Texas A&M's upset of Alabama. The net earned a 6.6 overnight Nielsen rating for the Saturday afternoon matchup, marking the second-best overnight for any college football game on any net this season to date. The only game to score ...

Tags: Research and Ratings, Nielsen Media Research