TNT averaged 1.5 million viewers for Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Tottenham in the UEFA Champions League final on Saturday. That is down from just over 2 million viewers last year on Fox, and the lowest mark for the game since '13, when Bayern Munich played Dortmund. From '14-18, each final involved either Cristiano Ronaldo (then with Real Madrid) or Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona). Liverpool-Tottenham does mark the most-watched UCL final ever on cable TV in the U.S. The last time the game was not on Fox was in ’09, when ESPN drew 1.43 million viewers for FC Barcelona-Manchester United. The last all-EPL matchup in the UCL final was in ’08, when ESPN2 drew 1.1 million viewers for Manchester United-Chelsea. Saturday’s match peaked at 1.9 million viewers. For 45 live matches this season, TNT averaged 310,000 viewers for the UCL, the tourney’s best figure in the U.S. in a decade and up 44% from Fox Sports' telecasts last season. Meanwhile, Univision and Univision Deportes combined to average 1.4 million viewers for the game. That’s the best Spanish-language figure for the UCL finale since ’15. Univision’s networks also recorded the most-viewed UCL season yet on linear TV in the U.S., regardless of language.
DOUBLE DRIBBLE: The Warriors-Raptors NBA Finals are averaging 13.64 million viewers through two games, marking the lowest two-game average since Lakers-Magic in ’09 (13.59 million). This year’s two-game figure also is down 24% from Warriors-Cavaliers last year.
FACE OFF: NBCSN drew 74,000 viewers for its first Premier Lacrosse League telecast on Sunday at 1:30pm ET. In the same window on Sunday, ESPNU drew 172,000 viewers for Georgia Tech-Coastal Carolina in the NCAA Baseball Regionals, while Tennis Channel drew 121,000 for a replay of Novak Djokovic’ win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the ATP Madrid Open last month.
The chart below lists final audience figures from select recent sports telecasts.
| TELECAST |
DATE
|
NET
|
TIME (ET)
|
RAT.
|
VIEWERS
(000)
|
| NBA Finals: Warriors-Raptors: Game 2 |
6/2
|
ABC
|
7:59-10:53pm
|
8.0
|
13,887
|
| NBA Finals: Warriors-Raptors: Game 1 |
5/30
|
ABC
|
8:59-11:42pm
|
7.9
|
13,310
|
| NHL Stanley Cup Final: Blues-Bruins: Game 1 |
5/27
|
NBC
|
8:09-11:01pm
|
2.9
|
5,251
|
| NHL Stanley Cup Final: Blues-Bruins: Game 2 |
5/29
|
NBCSN
|
8:09-11:18pm
|
2.0
|
3,386
|
| PGA Tour: The Memorial: Final Round |
6/2
|
CBS
|
2:30-6:15pm
|
2.1
|
2,958
|
| NHL Stanley Cup Final: Bruins-Blues: Game 3 |
6/1
|
NBCSN
|
8:09-11:05pm
|
1.6
|
2,930
|
| MLB: (regional) |
6/1
|
Fox
|
7:15-10:35pm
|
1.6
|
2,550
|
| Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series: Pocono 400 |
6/2
|
FS1
|
1:41-5:20pm
|
1.5
|
2,386
|
| PGA Tour: The Memorial: Third Round |
6/1
|
CBS
|
3:00-6:15pm
|
1.5
|
2,057
|
| MLB: Red Sox-Yankees |
6/2
|
ESPN
|
7:00-10:39pm
|
1.2
|
1,973
|
| UEFA Champions League final: Liverpool-Tottenham |
6/1
|
TNT
|
2:34-5:25pm
|
0.9
|
1,508
|
| Women's College World Series: Oklahoma-Alabama |
5/30
|
ESPN2
|
8:30-11:07pm
|
0.8
|
1,430
|
| Women's College World Series: Oklahoma-Alabama* |
6/2
|
ESPN
|
5:11-7:00pm
|
0.9
|
1,372
|
| Women's College World Series: Oklahoma-Alabama* |
6/2
|
ESPN2
|
7:00-7:55pm
|
n/a
|
1,293
|
| Women's College World Series: UCLA-Washington |
6/2
|
ESPN
|
1:00-4:50pm
|
0.8
|
1,276
|
Women's College World Series:
Washington-Oklahoma State |
6/1
|
ESPN
|
9:15-11:15pm
|
0.7
|
1,261
|
| French Open: Third Round |
6/1
|
NBC
|
12:00-3:00pm
|
0.8
|
1,146
|
| NTT IndyCar Series: Detroit Grand Prix: Race 2 |
6/2
|
NBC
|
3:30-5:30pm
|
0.7
|
1,091
|
| French Open: Fourth Round |
6/2
|
NBC
|
12:00-3:00pm
|
0.7
|
1,074
|
| French Open: First Round |
5/27
|
NBC
|
12:00-3:00pm
|
0.7
|
1,029
|
| NTT IndyCar Series: Detroit Grand Prix: Race 1 |
6/1
|
NBC
|
3:30-5:30pm
|
0.6
|
761
|
| Golf: U.S. Women's Open: Final Round |
6/2
|
Fox
|
2:00-6:00pm
|
0.5
|
728
|
| Bowling: PBA Championship |
6/2
|
Fox
|
12:30-2:00pm
|
0.5
|
662
|
| Golf: U.S. Women's Open: Third Round |
6/1
|
Fox
|
2:00-6:00pm
|
0.5
|
609
|
| Bowling: PBA Final Four |
6/1
|
Fox
|
12:00-2:00pm
|
0.4
|
576
|
NOTE: * = Game moved from ESPN to ESPN2 at 7:00pm ET to accommodate start of Red Sox-Yankees.
