ESPN averaged 2.04 million viewers for the premiere of "The Announcement" last Sunday. The documentary focusing on Magic Johnson's '91 revelation that he was HIV positive was down from the documentary the net aired on Selection Sunday last year. "The Fab Five" averaged 2.75 million viewers in the same window in '11.
KICK START: NBC Sports Network averaged 82,000 viewers for the FC Dallas-Red Bulls season opener last Sunday from 3:00-5:30pm ET, which was net’s first MLS telecast since it signed a three-year, $30M deal in the offseason with NBC Sports Group. That figure is up from Fox Soccer’s 25,000 viewers for the comparable Rapids-Timbers matchup last year. In the same window on Sunday, Fox Soccer averaged 37,000 viewers for a Serie A Lazio-Bologna match.
THE HEAT IS ON: ESPN averaged a 3.2 million viewers for the Heat-Bulls game on Wednesday night, marking the net’s most-viewed telecast of the season. The game earned a 6.2 local rating in Chicago, marking the net’s best regular-season NBA rating ever in the market. Meanwhile, NBA TV averaged 643,000 viewers for the Heat-Magic game on Tuesday night, marking the second most-watched “Fan Night” game this season, behind only the Spurs-Heat matchup on Jan. 17. Heat-Magic also marks NBA TV’s ninth most-viewed game ever.
NOTES: FX averaged a 0.8 U.S. rating and 1.3 million viewers for the series debut of “The Ultimate Fighter Live” last Friday night from 9:00-11:38pm ET. The program helped FX to a primetime win among all cable nets for the night….FS Midwest earned a 6.3 local rating in St. Louis for Tuesday night’s Blues-Blackhawks game, marking the net’s highest-rated Blues game ever on the net. The game surpassed the previous high of a 5.6 rating for a game against the Sharks on Nov. 4, 2010.
The charts below list final Nielsen ratings from recent sports telecasts.
| TELECAST | DATE | NET | TIME (ET) | RAT. | VIEWERS (000) |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup: Kobalt Tools 400 | 3/11 | Fox | 3:19-6:17pm | 5.2 | 8,528 |
| NCAA Basketball Selection Show | 3/11 | CBS | 6:00-7:00pm | 3.6 | n/a |
WGC: Cadillac Championship:
Final Round | 3/11 | NBC | 3:03-7:00pm | 2.8 | 4,139 |
| NBA: Celtics-Lakers | 3/11 | ABC | 3:31-6:14pm | 2.6 | 4,049 |
Big Ten Championship:
Michigan State-Ohio State | 3/11 | CBS | 3:24-5:33pm | 2.5 | 3,722 |
SEC Tournament Championship:
Vanderbilt-Kentucky | 3/11 | ABC | 1:00-3:16pm | 2.1 | 3,172 |
WGC: Cadillac Championship:
Third Round | 3/10 | NBC | 2:00-6:00pm | 2.0 | 2,768 |
| Big Ten Semifinal: Ohio State-Michigan | 3/10 | CBS | 4:04-6:09pm | 1.6 | 2,440 |
SEC Tournament Semifinals:
Kentucky-Florida | 3/10 | ABC | 1:00-3:09pm | 1.6 | 2,413 |
Pac-12 Championship:
Colorado-Arizona | 3/10 | CBS | 6:09-8:15pm | 1.4 | 2,097 |
Big Ten Semifinal:
Michigan State-Wisconsin | 3/10 | CBS | 1:40-3:41pm | 1.1 | 1,662 |
SEC Tournament Semifinals:
Vanderbilt-Ole Miss | 3/10 | ABC | 3:26-5:31pm | 0.8 | 1,216 |
| "Road to the Final Four" | 3/11 | CBS | 12:00-1:00pm | 0.8 | n/a |
Mexico Primera Division:
Chivas de Guadalajara-Cruz Azul | 3/10 | Telem. | 7:55-10:08pm | 0.5 | 1,116 |
| NHL: Bruins-Penguins | 3/11 | NBC | 12:30-3:03pm | 0.7 | 1,103 |
Atlantic 10 Championship:
St. Bonaventure-Xavier | 3/11 | CBS | 1:00-3:16pm | 0.6 | 929 |
Conference USA Championship:
Memphis-Marshall | 3/10 | CBS | 11:30am-1:40pm | 0.7 | 893 |
| Snowboarding: U.S. Grand Prix (taped) | 3/10 | NBC | 12:00-1:00pm | 0.5 | 690 |
| Freeskiing: U.S. Grand Prix (taped) | 3/10 | NBC | 1:00-2:00pm | 0.5 | 683 |
| TELECAST | DATE | NET | TIME (ET) | RAT. | VIEWERS (000) |
NASCAR Nationwide Series:
Sam's Town 300 | 3/10 | ESPN2 | 4:56-7:46pm | 1.5 | 2,503 |
ACC Tournament Semifinal:
Florida State-Duke | 3/10 | ESPN | 3:31-5:43pm | 1.6 | 2,357 |
Big 12 Tournament Championship:
Missouri-Baylor | 3/10 | ESPN | 6:07-8:22pm | 1.5 | 2,357 |
Big East Tournament Championship:
Louisville-Cincinnati | 3/10 | ESPN | 9:00-11:16pm | 1.4 | 2,178 |
ACC Tournament Championship:
Florida State-North Carolina | 3/11 | ESPN | 1:00-3:15pm | 1.5 | 2,159 |
| NBA: Magic-Bulls | 3/8 | TNT | 8:16-10:48pm | 1.4 | 2,098 |
Big East Tournament Semifinal:
Cincinnati-Syracuse | 3/9 | ESPN | 7:00-9:12pm | 1.3 | 2,082 |
| "The Announcement" | 3/11 | ESPN | 9:00-10:30pm | 1.3 | 2,047 |
| "Bracketology" | 3/11 | ESPN | 7:00-9:00pm | 1.3 | 1,918 |
ACC Tournament Semifinal:
North Carolina-N.C. State | 3/10 | ESPN | 1:00-3:11pm | 1.5 | 1,572 |
