The big F1 news of the week was the racing circuit planning to switch from NBC Sports to ESPN next season. ESPN will have to keep the momentum going for F1, as NBC Sports has seen strong gains this season. NBC, NBCSN and CNBC have averaged 548,000 viewers for live races to date, up 13% from the same point last season. This season’s average also is up 135% from the same point in ’13, which was the year NBC took over the package from Fox Sports.
NEW KIDS IN TOWN: NBA TV on Tuesday night aired the Rockets-Thunder preseason contest, averaging 343,000 viewers. The game marked Chris Paul’s debut with the Rockets, as well as the debuts for Carmelo Anthony and Paul George with the Thunder. That mark of 343,000 viewers is the net’s best preseason audience since ’11.
The chart below lists final audience figures from select recent sports telecasts.
| TELECAST |
DATE
|
NET
|
TIME (ET)
|
RAT.
|
VIEWERS
(000)
|
| NFL: (singleheader) |
10/1
|
Fox
|
1:03-4:47pm
|
11.5
|
20,056
|
| "SNF": Colts-Seahawks |
10/1
|
NBC
|
8:31-11:33pm
|
9.6
|
16,731
|
NFL national window:
Raiders-Broncos (97%) |
10/1
|
CBS
|
4:41-7:56pm
|
9.1
|
15,591
|
| "TNF": Bears-Packers* |
9/28
|
CBS/NFL Net
|
8:29pm-12:13am
|
8.9
|
14,610
|
| "MNF": Cowboys-Cardinals |
9/25
|
ESPN
|
8:15-11:50pm
|
8.2
|
13,698
|
| NFL: (regional) |
10/1
|
CBS
|
1:03-4:41pm
|
7.0
|
11,700
|
| "Football Night in America" |
10/1
|
NBC
|
7:30-8:21pm
|
4.7
|
8,009
|
| NFL: Saints-Dolphins (London) |
10/1
|
Fox
|
9:34am-12:42pm
|
4.0
|
6,403
|
College football:
Clemson-Virginia Tech |
9/30
|
ABC
|
8:07-11:43pm
|
2.7
|
4,613
|
College football:
Georgia-Tennessee |
9/30
|
CBS
|
3:30-7:00pm
|
2.4
|
3,950
|
| "The NFL Today" |
10/1
|
CBS
|
12:00-1:03pm
|
2.0
|
3,126
|
| College football: Ole Miss-Alabama |
9/30
|
ESPN
|
9:09pm-12:24am
|
1.8
|
3,028
|
College football:
Florida State-Wake Forest |
9/30
|
ABC
|
3:30-7:00pm
|
1.9
|
2,894
|
College football:
Northwestern-Wisconsin |
9/30
|
ABC
|
12:00-3:30pm
|
1.9
|
2,844
|
College football:
Vanderbilt-Florida |
9/30
|
ESPN
|
12:01-3:27pm
|
1.8
|
2,815
|
College football:
USC-Washington State |
9/29
|
ESPN
|
10:30pm-2:02am
|
1.8
|
2,776
|
College football:
Oklahoma State-Texas Tech |
9/30
|
Fox
|
8:10-11:57pm
|
1.6
|
2,685
|
College football:
Iowa-Michigan State |
9/30
|
Fox
|
4:30-7:30pm
|
1.5
|
2,520
|
College football:
Mississippi State-Auburn |
9/30
|
ESPN
|
5:54-9:09pm
|
1.4
|
2,383
|
| Golf: Presidents Cup: Day 4 |
10/1
|
NBC
|
12:00-6:00pm
|
1.5
|
2,263
|
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup
Series: Apache Warrior 400
(Dover) |
10/1
|
NBCSN
|
2:25-5:44pm
|
1.3
|
2,046
|
| Golf: Presidents Cup: Day 3 |
9/30
|
NBC
|
8:00am-6:15pm
|
1.4
|
1,969
|
| "Monday Night Countdown" |
9/25
|
ESPN
|
6:00-8:15pm
|
n/a
|
1,872
|
| UFC: "The Ultimate Fighter" |
10/1
|
Fox
|
5:00-6:00pm
|
1.2
|
1,832
|
| MLB: (regional) |
9/30
|
Fox
|
1:00-4:30pm
|
1.2
|
1,785
|
| College football: Miami-Duke |
9/29
|
ESPN
|
7:00-10:30pm
|
n/a
|
1,709
|
| College football: Texas-Iowa State |
9/28
|
ESPN
|
7:53-11:26pm
|
n/a
|
1,655
|
| "College GameDay" |
9/30
|
ESPN
|
9:00am-12:01pm
|
n/a
|
1,498
|
| Liga MX: Tigres UANL-Chivas |
9/30
|
Univision
|
7:59-10:05pm
|
0.5
|
1,001
|
| Liga MX: Toluca-Club America |
9/30
|
Univision
|
10:05pm-12:03am
|
0.5
|
985
|
| Liga MX: Leon-Club America |
9/27
|
UniMas
|
7:55-9:59pm
|
0.3
|
634
|
| Liga MX: Chivas-Lobos |
9/26
|
UniMas
|
7:55-10:00pm
|
0.3
|
578
|
| Lucas Oil Off Road Racing (taped) |
9/30
|
CBS
|
2:00-3:00pm
|
0.4
|
510
|
| Liga MX: Pachuca-Cruz Azul |
9/27
|
UniMas
|
9:59pm-12:07am
|
0.3
|
505
|
| Liga MX: Veracruz-Monarcas |
9/26
|
UniMas
|
10:20pm-12:25am
|
0.2
|
363
|
| "World of X Games: WSL Surfing" |
10/1
|
ABC
|
4:00-5:00pm
|
0.3
|
344
|
| CHART NOTE: * = Game featured a 47-minute delay. Ratings during the delay are not factored in here. |
