NBCSN Sets Viewership Records In Q2; ESPN Up Big From Previous Years

NBCSN averaged 725,000 viewers in primetime during Q2, marking a record quarterly figure for the cable net. A strong audience for the Stanley Cup Playoffs and first-time carriage of the Winter Olympics helped boost the net’s primetime audience 14% compared to the similar period in ’13. The net's primetime audience also saw records among adults 18-49 and 25-54. NBCSN's total-day audience set a new record as well, with 195,000 viewers. For the first half of the year, NBCSN saw its total-day audience on record, fueled by increases for the NHL, Sochi Games, EPL, F1 and IndyCar. ESPN continued to lead all sports cable nets in Q2 with 1.75 million viewers in primetime, up 28% compared to the same period last year. The net’s Q2 total-day audience, which included a few weeks of daytime FIFA World Cup matches, was up 27% compared to last year and up 20% compared to ’10, when the net last had World Cup coverage. NBA TV also saw a 31% jump in Q2 primetime, fueled by increases during playoff telecasts. MLB Network’s primetime was up 12% compared to ’13, while total-day audience was up 27%. The only sports cable net seeing a sharp decline was FS2, which has seen an audience drop-off compared to what was the old Fuel TV.

NOTES: * = Compared to figures for Speed during Q2 in previous years. ** = FS2 is compared to Fuel TV from previous years.