Final Ratings: ESPN "Bad Boys" Documentary Premiere Draws 1.8 Million Viewers

ESPN averaged 1.83 million viewers for the premiere of “Bad Boys” on April 17, marking the 11th-best audience for the premiere of a documentary on the net since the “30 for 30” series began in late ’09. The net’s top “30 for 30” film remains “You Don’t Know Bo,” which drew 3.6 million viewers in December ’12. “Bad Boys” fell below the audience for other basketball-related docs like “The Fab Five” (2.75 million), “Winning Time: Reggie Miller Vs. The New York Knicks” (2.05 million) and “The Announcement” (2.05 million). However, it beat “Survive & Advance” (1.6 million), “Benji” (1.49 million) and “Requiem for the Big East” (1.46 million). Meanwhile, ESPN drew 527,000 viewers for the premiere of “Hillsborough” on April 15, which was the first in its series of “30 for 30: Soccer Stories” ahead of the ’14 FIFA World Cup. That audience is on par with ESPN docs such as “Runner” (548,000) and “Renee” (508,000) (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).

PLAYOFF PAYOFFS: Sun Sports drew a 6.7 local rating in Miami-Ft. Lauderdale for Wednesday’s Bobcats-Heat Eastern Conference First Round Game 2, while TNT drew a 7.4 rating in the market for the same telecast. During the regular season, there were 13 instances where the RSN and a national network aired the same Heat game, and 12 of those times, “more local viewers watched Sun Sports,” with the other instance a tie. During the competing games on cable TV, Sun Sports averaged a 5.8 local rating, while ESPN drew a 4.2 and TNT drew a 3.5 (MIAMIHERALD.com, 4/24)….FS Southwest drew a 16.7 local rating in San Antonio for Mavericks-Spurs Western Conference First Round Game 2 on Wednesday, marking the best figure for a Spurs game on the RSN in nearly three years, as well as the ninth-best rating all-time (FS Southwest)….FS Midwest has drawn the RSN’s three highest-rated Blues games in the last decade during the team’s Western Conference Quarterfinal series against the Blackhawks. FS Midwest drew an 11.9 local rating in St. Louis on Monday for Game 3, marking the top-rated game in the series to date on the RSN. Through four games, FS Midwest is averaging an 11.2 local rating. By comparison, the ’13 Cardinals-Pirates NLDS averaged a 19.8 local rating for five games on MLB Network and TBS, while the Rams averaged a 17.7 local rating during the ’13 regular season (STLTODAY.com, 4/24)…NESN on Tuesday drew a 12.7 local rating in Boston for Game 3 of the Bruins-Red Wings Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series, marking the best Bruins Game 3 rating in NESN history and second-best rating for a game that was not in a series clinching scenario (NESN).

The charts below list final ratings from recent sports telecasts.