The NFL Draft this year had record viewership across three days of coverage. But what did the breakdown look like? The first round on Thursday across all three networks was down 2%, as there was more intrigue around top picks last year, especially at the QB position. There also were two N.Y. teams picking in the top three last year. It was Friday night and Saturday this year that helped the overall rebound. Rounds 2-3 across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and NFL Network were up 9% compared to what Fox, ESPN, ESPN2 and NFL Net drew last year. Then there was an 8% uptick on Saturday afternoon (ABC, ESPN, NFL Net both years). Looking at each network individually, ABC’s big uptick (22%) over Fox for the first round helped keep things close after both ESPN and NFL Net were down big compared to '18. ABC kept that momentum going, up 32% for Friday night compared to Fox, and up 19% compared to itself for Saturday. ESPN rebounded after Thursday night, as the cable net saw a 27% gain on Friday night and a 1% uptick Saturday. NFL Network was again down on Friday night (-4%), but saw a 6% gain for Saturday.
GAME OF COMPS: HBO reported that Sunday night’s “Game of Thrones” episode drew 17.8 million viewers, but that includes the premiere, an encore airing and any streaming. Given the nature of TV viewing habits, an extended audience window like that for a scripted show likely makes sense. But how does that figure compare to some live sporting events (TV-only figures)? Looking at the ’18 NFL regular season, none of ESPN’s “MNF” games topped that “GoT” figure. For NBC, 16 of 19 “SNF” telecasts topped the “GoT” number, while Fox saw one “TNF” game beat out the Battle of Winterfell. For college football, CBS’ SEC Championship game in December with Alabama and Georgia was right with “GoT,” as that game drew 17.5 million viewers. Last month, CBS drew 19.6 million viewers for the Virginia-Texas Tech NCAA hoops title game. Meanwhile, Fox Sports' Michael Mulvihill yesterday on Twitter noted that among the 50 most-watched Shows of the '18-19 TV season to date, 44 are live sports events, five are live non-sports special events and one is the reality show that aired after the Super Bowl.
The chart below lists final audience figures from select recent sports telecasts.
| TELECAST |
DATE
|
NET
|
TIME (ET)
|
RAT.
|
VIEWERS
(000)
|
NBA Western Conference Semifinals:
Rockets-Warriors: Game 1 |
4/28
|
ABC
|
3:24-6:16pm
|
4.5
|
7,256
|
| NFL Draft: Round 1 |
4/25
|
ESPN
|
8:00pm-12:00am
|
3.0
|
5,015
|
| NFL Draft: Round 1 |
4/25
|
ABC
|
8:00-11:58pm
|
3.0
|
4,564
|
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series:
Geico 500 (Talladega) |
4/28
|
Fox
|
2:15-5:45pm
|
2.8
|
4,521
|
NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals:
Celtics-Bucks: Game 1 |
4/28
|
ABC
|
1:00-3:24pm
|
2.8
|
4,201
|
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Warriors-Clippers: Game 5 |
4/24
|
TNT
|
10:38pm-1:15am
|
2.6
|
4,137
|
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Warriors-Clippers: Game 6 |
4/26
|
ESPN
|
10:00pm-12:43am
|
2.4
|
3,713
|
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Nuggets-Spurs: Game 7 |
4/27
|
TNT
|
10:02pm-12:41am
|
2.2
|
3,492
|
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Rockets-Jazz: Game 5 |
4/24
|
TNT
|
8:09-10:38pm
|
2.2
|
3,404
|
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Trail Blazers-Thunder: Game 5 |
4/23
|
TNT
|
10:38pm-1:09am
|
2.0
|
3,152
|
NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals:
76ers-Raptors: Game 1 |
4/27
|
TNT
|
7:30-10:02pm
|
2.0
|
3,075
|
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Rockets-Jazz: Game 4 |
4/22
|
TNT
|
10:47pm-1:16am
|
2.0
|
2,996
|
NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals:
Blue Jackets-Bruins: Game 2 |
4/27
|
NBC
|
8:08pm-12:11am
|
1.7
|
2,852
|
NBA Eastern Conference First Round:
Bucks-Pistons: Game 4 |
4/22
|
TNT
|
8:08-10:47pm
|
1.9
|
2,835
|
| NFL Draft: Rounds 2-3 |
4/26
|
ABC
|
7:00-11:27pm
|
1.7
|
2,588
|
| NFL Draft: Rounds 2-3 |
4/26
|
ESPN
|
7:00-10:00pm
|
1.8
|
2,587
|
| PGA Tour: Zurich Classic of New Orleans: Final Round |
4/28
|
CBS
|
3:00-6:00pm
|
1.0
|
1,462
|
NHL Western Conference Semifinals:
Stars-Blues: Game 2 |
4/27
|
NBC
|
3:15-6:15pm
|
0.9
|
1,390
|
NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals:
Hurricanes-Islanders: Game 2 |
4/28
|
NBC
|
3:12-6:00pm
|
0.9
|
1,383
|
| "NBA Countdown" |
4/28
|
ABC
|
12:30-1:00pm
|
0.9
|
1,315
|
| NFL Draft: Rounds 4-7 |
4/27
|
ABC
|
12:00-6:26pm
|
0.9
|
1,198
|
| PGA Tour: Zurich Classic of New Orleans: Third Round |
4/27
|
CBS
|
3:00-6:00pm
|
0.8
|
1,194
|
| Liga MX: Leon-Chivas |
4/27
|
Univision
|
10:02pm-12:07am
|
0.6
|
1,138
|
| Liga MX: Santos Laguna-Club America |
4/27
|
Univision
|
7:55-10:02pm
|
0.5
|
886
|
| Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying |
4/27
|
Fox
|
4:30-6:15pm
|
0.6
|
877
|
| PBR (Columbus) |
4/28
|
CBS
|
1:00-2:00pm
|
0.6
|
849
|
| EPL: Newcastle-Brighton |
4/27
|
NBC
|
12:30-2:30pm
|
0.4
|
595
|
| Polo: U.S. Open Championship (taped) |
4/28
|
CBS
|
2:00-3:00pm
|
0.4
|
556
|
