The Sports Viewership Race Results

By: TOM Gleeson

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The verdict is in, everyone missed watching professional sports. Viewership increased as expected. Every league such as the WNBA, the Premier Lacrosse League, and three of the four major sports leagues saw an increase. Some of the numbers came as a surprise, but most were expected according to the experts. As it was detailed in the previous article prefacing the return of sports, major television networks were expecting increased numbers in viewership ratings. I took it one step further and predicted that the first week of each season would produce higher numbers in what is called the “Honeymoon Phase.” Let’s take a look at the results.

NBA

The anticipation for the NBA restart was high, but surprisingly the viewership ratings were not what experts had predicted. The Sports As A Job followers voted that the NBA would win the viewership race among the three major sports leagues that were starting up following their post-COVID hiatus. I mentioned the honeymoon phase in my previous article, which means that leagues’ numbers would be higher in the first week compared to the second and third weeks. According to CNBC, the first full week of bubble games the ratings were down 4% from pre-COVID games; however ratings were up 14% above the average after the first weekend. These numbers do not support the “Honeymoon Phase” hypothesis, but it may be an outlier when compared to the other leagues.
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Even though the percentage of viewership was down, millions of fans still tuned into the NBA opening night doubleheader. The first game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz averaged 2.1 million viewers and peaked at 3.4 million viewers. The second game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers averaged 3.4 million viewers and peaked at 4.1 million. The average of the first two games was 2.9 million, CNBC reported.

MLB & NHL

The MLB saw a rise in their viewership ratings, but the way fans consume the MLB is much different than the NBA and NHL. The MLB is dominated by local cablevision networks with the exception of some games being played on national networks such as ESPN and FOX. The Opening Day game between the New York Yankees and defending champion Washington Nationals was played on ESPN. According to Yahoo Sports, the game averaged an audience of 4 million people and it was the most watched opening day game in ESPN history. The game was also the most watched regular season MLB game on any television network since 2011.

From a national standpoint the Bronx Bombers brought in big numbers, and they are bringing in record numbers for their local station as well. YES Network, the home of the New York Yankees, has seen a 20% increase in viewership from last season. Among millennials, ages 18 to 34, YES saw an increase of 126% this season in comparison to last season. This is a good sign for baseball since the average viewer of the MLB is 57 years old. Has quarantine sparked a new love and respect for the game of baseball? At least for Yankees fans it has. Overall, the MLB has seen an increase in viewers. Their navigation of outbreaks within organizations has thrown a wrench in their scheduling, but it seems like the season will be played out to the end.

Similar to the MLB, the NHL saw an increase in viewership ratings. According to a NBC Sports Press Release, during their qualifying round for the Stanley Cup Playoffs the Total Audience Delivery (TAD) was up 39% on NBC and NBC Sports. Cable games on local television stations are up 120% versus the Comparable Regular-Season Average. NBC games are up 11%, but this excludes the Winter Classic.

Premier LACROSSE League and the WNBA

Two leagues that I did not mention in my previous article that had increased viewership compared to last season are the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) and the WNBA. The PLL designed a bubble tournament in Utah where all seven teams would participate in a 20 game tournament with round robin play and a playoff series. The Whipsnakes won the PLL Championship Series and it looks like the league has a bright future ahead of them since the support they received was so high. The Championship had a total audience of 340,000 on NBC, up 23% from last year’s championship. Broadcasts on NBC/NBCSN averaged 153,000 viewers, up 33% from the 2019 season. 

Last season the PLL mainly played their games on NBC Gold, which requires a paid subscription to watch games. Playing on NBC and NBCSN this season was the smartest thing the PLL could have done because it allowed exposure to non-lacrosse fans and to create a following in an untapped market. It should be interesting to see if they create another tournament for the Fall/Winter since they were so successful this summer.

The WNBA smashed their viewership records on their opening night with their most watched opener since 2012, according to ESPN PR. The first weekend’s “four-game opening slate averaged 401,000 viewers across ESPN and ABC, up 63% over the 2019 WNBA regular-season average on ESPN’s Networks” (ESPN PR). 63% is the largest increase in viewership ratings in comparison to the NBA, NHL, MLB, and PLL.

Sports have been in high demand throughout the past month. Which league have you watched the most over the past few weeks?