The penultimate PGA Tour event of the season last weekend saw gains across NBC and Golf Channel. Jon Rahm’s dramatic win over Dustin Johnson in a playoff at the BMW Championship averaged 3.44 million viewers on NBC on Sunday, up 9% from the event’s final round last year in mid-August, when Justin Thomas won by three strokes. NBC also averaged 2.62 million viewers for Saturday’s third round from Olympia Fields, up 9%. Golf Channel averaged 785,000 viewers for Round 2 on Friday, up 16%, while its opening round coverage (722,000) was up 15% on Thursday.
FIRST & 10: Austin Peay-Central Arkansas kicked off the college football season on Saturday night, averaging 501,000 viewers on ESPN in the 9:00pm ET window. Last season, the FCS opener (Youngstown State-Samford) averaged 718,000 viewers on ESPN on a Saturday afternoon in Week 0. That game led into Miami-Florida in primetime. Working against this year's opener was the COVID-related logjam of sporting events, including head-to-head competition with the NASCAR Cup Series on NBC (3.87 million viewers), Trail Blazers-Lakers on TNT (2.92 million viewers), Premier Boxing Champions on Fox (832,000) and Golden Knights-Canucks on NBCSN (542,000).
The chart below lists viewership figures from select recent sports telecasts.
| TELECAST |
DATE
|
NET
|
TIME (ET)
|
VIEWERS
(000)
|
| NASCAR Cup Series: Daytona |
8/29
|
NBC
|
7:37-10:34pm
|
3,869
|
| PGA Tour: BMW Championship: final round |
8/30
|
NBC
|
3:00-7:30pm
|
3,442
|
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Lakers-Trail Blazers: Game 4 |
8/24
|
TNT
|
9:14-11:56pm
|
2,979
|
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Lakers-Trail Blazers: Game 5 |
8/29
|
TNT
|
9:21pm-12:07am
|
2,924
|
| PGA Tour: BMW Championship: third round |
8/29
|
NBC
|
3:00-6:00pm
|
2,615
|
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Clippers-Mavericks: Game 5 |
8/25
|
TNT
|
9:18pm-12:04am
|
2,434
|
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Clippers-Mavericks: Game 6 |
8/30
|
ESPN
|
3:43-6:12pm
|
2,318
|
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Rockets-Thunder: Game 5 |
8/29
|
TNT
|
6:39-9:00pm
|
2,140
|
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Jazz-Nuggets: Game 6 |
8/30
|
TNT
|
8:44-11:21pm
|
1,982
|
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Jazz-Nuggets: Game 5 |
8/25
|
TNT
|
6:49-9:07pm
|
1,845
|
NBA Eastern Conference First Round:
Heat-Pacers: Game 4 |
8/24
|
TNT
|
6:45-9:14pm
|
1,732
|
NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals:
Celtics-Raptors: Game 1 |
8/30
|
ESPN
|
1:10-3:43pm
|
1,680
|
NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals:
Flyers-Islanders: Game 4 |
8/30
|
NBC
|
8:00-11:00pm
|
1,561
|
| MLB: (regional)* |
8/29
|
Fox
|
1:07-3:18pm; 3:30-5:20pm;
6:00-8:00pm
|
1,365
|
NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals:
Lightning-Bruins: Game 4 |
8/29
|
NBC
|
12:09-3:00pm
|
1,297
|
NBA Eastern Conference First Round:
Bucks-Magic: Game 5 |
8/29
|
ESPN
|
3:38-6:14pm
|
1,215
|
| Premier Boxing Champions |
8/29
|
Fox
|
8:00-10:57pm
|
832
|
| Liga MX: Necaxa-Cruz Azul |
8/29
|
Univision
|
9:53pm-12:00am
|
649
|
| Liga MX: Club America-Club Atletico |
8/29
|
Univision
|
7:30-9:53pm
|
606
|
| Pro Bull Riding: Texas |
8/30
|
CBS
|
3:00-4:00pm
|
564
|
| WNBA: Seattle Storm-Chicago Sky |
8/29
|
ABC
|
2:00-4:00pm
|
413
|
| Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series |
8/30
|
CBS
|
2:00-3:00pm
|
412
|
| WNBA: Dallas Wings-Indiana Fever |
8/29
|
ABC
|
4:00-6:00pm
|
403
|
| Tour de France: Stage 1 recap |
8/30
|
NBC
|
1:00-3:00pm
|
388
|
| Liga MX: Pachuca-Chivas |
8/29
|
Telemundo
|
7:55-10:00pm
|
344
|
NOTE: * = Does not include rain delay portions of telecast.
