Audience Analysis: NHL All-Star Up In Return To Broadcast TV; UFC, Winter X Games Down

NBC drew 2.26 million viewers for the NHL All-Star Game on Sunday from 3:39-7:00pm ET, which was the first time the game aired on broadcast TV since ’04. It was the most-watched NHL ASG since that ’04 game, which drew 2.68 million viewers on ABC. Last year’s ASG, which aired on NBCSN, drew 1.6 million viewers. NBC’s coverage on Sunday peaked from 6:45-7:00pm with 2.53 million viewers. Pittsburgh led all markets for the game with a 6.1 local rating, followed by Buffalo (5.3) and Minneapolis-St. Paul (3.7). This was the second year the ASG had a 3-on-3 tournament format.

SWISS CAKE ROLL: ESPN on Sunday from 3:00-7:40am ET drew 1.09 million viewers for the live telecast of Roger Federer’s five-set win over Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open. That marks the event’s best men’s final since it moved off a Saturday primetime slot in ’05 (10:00pm). Novak Djokovic’s three-set win over Andy Murray last year drew 527,000 viewers on ESPN in the same 3:00am time slot. Meanwhile, Serena Williams’ straight-set win over sister Venus on Saturday from 3:00-5:05am drew 926,000 viewers, marking the best women’s finale at the Aussie Open since it moved to the early morning slot in ’09. Last year’s final, which saw Angelique Kerber defeat Serena in three sets, drew 679,000 viewers.

BE MY VALENTINA: “UFC on Fox 23” on Saturday night drew 2.19 million viewers for a card headlined by Valentina Shevchenko-Julianna Pena. That figure marks the second-smallest audience for any UFC telecast on Fox since the net first started airing fights in November ’11. This was UFC’s third card headlined by female fighters, which have all aired over the last year. Shevchenko headlined the July 23 telecast, with Fox drawing 2.98 million viewers. Paige VanZant’s win over Michelle Waterson on Dec. 17 drew 3.18 million viewers.

LONG WINTER: ESPN and ABC averaged 778,000 viewers for the five live Winter X Games broadcasts from Thursday through Sunday, marking the least-watched Winter X since ’02. Last year, the networks had four telecasts, averaging 925,000 viewers. Two years ago, five telecasts averaged 1.04 million viewers.

GOLF GALAXY: Golf Channel last week averaged a combined 1.06 million viewers for the first round of the PGA Tour Farmers Insurance Open (live+primetime replay), which saw Tiger Woods return to official play for the first time since August '15. That figure marks the net's best first-round audience for the event on record. It was also Golf Channel's best first round for any PGA Tour event since last season's Players Championship drew 1.15 million viewers. Meanwhile, Golf Channel on Sunday from 2:30-5:29pm ET drew 524,000 viewers for the final round of the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, which saw Brittany Lincicome defeat Lexi Thompson in a playoff. That figure marks the net’s best LPGA audience for a non-major telecast.

SPECIAL Ks: ESPN drew 3.35 million viewers for Kansas-Kentucky on Saturday, marking the net’s most-viewed college basketball of the ’16-17 season to date and best for any matchup in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge since the event started in the ’13-14 season. The same matchup last year in the same time slot drew 2.98 million viewers.

The chart below lists audience figures from select recent sports telecasts.