HBO averaged 671,000 viewers for the season premiere of "Hard Knocks" on Tuesday night, which this season focuses on the Buccaneers. That figure is up 32% from last season, when the premiere episode focusing on the Rams averaged 509,000 viewers. That telecast ran up against the Rio Games. Two years ago, the series premiere focusing on the Texans averaged 826,000 viewers, while the '14 premiere for the Falcons-focused show averaged 617,000 viewers.
EASY LIKE SUNDAY MORNING: NBC on Sunday averaged 1.1 million viewers for the final round of the Ricoh Women's British Open from 11:30am-2:30pm ET, which saw I.K. Kim win the event. That figure is up big from 858,000 viewers last year, but that event had to compete with coverage of the PGA Championship on the same weekend (TNT had early PGA Sunday coverage from 9:00am-2:00pm). The 1.1 million viewers also marks the best women's golf audience for '17 to date and the best for the event since ABC drew 1.59 million viewers for the final round in '06. It was the best women's golf audience on NBC since the '14 U.S. Women's Open averaged 2.04 million viewers. This year's U.S. Women's Open final round on Fox last month averaged 790,000 viewers. That telecast ran from 2:15-6:45pm.
A TALE OF TWO NETWORKS: ESPN last Saturday averaged 697,000 viewers for the Pro Football HOF induction ceremony from 7:00-11:45pm. This year's class included Jerry Jones, Jason Taylor, LaDainian Tomlinson and Kurt Warner. That figure is down 17% from 839,000 viewers last year for a class that included Brett Favre, Marvin Harrison, Eddie DeBartolo Jr. and Tony Dungy. While ESPN was down for the telecast, NFL Network also averaged 486,000 viewers for its coverage, up from 448,000 viewers last year.
The chart below lists final viewership figures for select recent sports telecasts.
| TELECAST |
DATE
|
NET
|
TIME (ET)
|
RAT.
|
VIEWERS
(000)
|
NFL preseason: HOF Game:
Cowboys-Cardinals |
8/5
|
NBC
|
8:11-11:04pm
|
5.0
|
8,247
|
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series:
I Love New York 355 at The Glen |
8/6
|
NBCSN
|
3:28-5:36pm
|
2.0
|
3,250
|
WGC-Bridgestone Invitational:
Final Round |
8/8
|
CBS
|
2:00-6:00pm
|
1.8
|
2,660
|
WGC-Bridgestone Invitational:
Third Round |
8/7
|
CBS
|
2:00-6:00pm
|
1.4
|
2,050
|
| MLB: Dodgers-Mets |
8/6
|
ESPN
|
8:00-11:08pm
|
1.0
|
1,605
|
| "NASCAR Cup Series Postrace" |
8/6
|
NBCSN
|
5:36-6:30pm
|
n/a
|
1,597
|
MLS All-Star Game
(vs. Real Madrid) |
8/4
|
Univision
|
9:00-11:18pm
|
0.8
|
1,484
|
IAAF World Track &
Field Championships |
8/8
|
NBC
|
2:30-5:00pm
|
0.9
|
1,323
|
IAAF World Track
& Field Championships (taped) |
8/7
|
NBC
|
3:00-5:00pm
|
0.9
|
1,236
|
NASCAR Xfinity Series:
Zippo 200 at The Glen |
8/5
|
NBCSN
|
2:25-4:53pm
|
0.8
|
1,200
|
Breeders' Cup Challenge
Series: Whitney Handicap |
8/7
|
NBC
|
5:00-6:00pm
|
0.8
|
1,146
|
Ricoh Women's British
Open: Final Round |
8/8
|
NBC
|
11:30am-2:30pm
|
0.8
|
1,101
|
Liga MX:
Club America-UNAM Pumas |
8/7
|
Univision
|
9:59pm-12:00am
|
0.5
|
992
|
NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing
Series: Northwest Nationals |
8/8
|
Fox
|
4:00-7:15pm
|
0.6
|
883
|
UFC Fight Night:
Sergio Pettis d. Brandon Moreno |
8/5
|
FS1
|
10:00pm-1:08am
|
0.5
|
859
|
| "NASCAR Cup Series Prerace" |
8/6
|
NBCSN
|
1:00-2:25pm
|
n/a
|
855
|
Ricoh Women's British Open:
Third Round |
8/7
|
NBC
|
11:00am-2:00pm
|
0.6
|
809
|
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup
Series qualifying (Watkins Glen) |
8/6
|
NBCSN
|
12:00-1:00pm
|
0.5
|
738
|
| MLB: Indians-Red Sox |
7/31
|
ESPN
|
7:00-9:58pm
|
n/a
|
735
|
| Liga MX: Leon-Cruz Azul |
8/7
|
Univision
|
8:00-9:59pm
|
0.4
|
731
|
Top Rank Boxing: Vasyl Lomachenko
d. Miguel Marriaga |
8/5
|
ESPN
|
11:45pm-12:57am
|
0.5
|
728
|
| Pro Football HOF Induction Ceremony |
8/5
|
ESPN
|
7:00-11:45pm
|
n/a
|
697
|
| Reebok CrossFit Games (taped) |
8/7
|
CBS
|
1:00-2:00pm
|
0.5
|
675
|
FIVB Women's Beach Volleyball
World Championships (taped) |
8/7
|
NBC
|
2:00-3:00pm
|
0.5
|
672
|
| "E:60 Pictures: Leaf" |
8/7
|
ABC
|
3:30-5:00m
|
0.4
|
519
|
| "World of X Games: Rip to Cabo" |
8/7
|
ABC
|
2:30-3:30pm
|
0.3
|
434
|
| Bundesliga: Dortmund-Bayern Munich |
8/7
|
Fox
|
2:15-4:45pm
|
0.3
|
426
|
