The NBA Playoffs and NASCAR went 1-2 in the midday battle to top the sports ratings charts for Sunday, April 21st.
Sunday's NBA playoff game between the Mavericks and Clippers averaged a 2.6 rating and 4.66 million viewers on ABC, down 11% and 16% from last year's Lakers-Grizzlies (3.0 and 5.54 million viewers), respectively. , still the biggest sports viewer of the day. The average number of viewers for all NBA games on Sunday was 2.2 million and 3.97 million, respectively, down 8% from last year (2.3 million and 4.34 million). See the previous link for more information on his NBA Playoff ratings for opening weekend.
The NASCAR Cup Series race from Talladega drew 2.4 million and 4.31 million viewers on FOX, with the two most-watched sportscasts of the day broadcast directly across from each other. tyler reddick's victory ranks as the lowest-watched race in 2020 since it began airing on FOX in 2001, excluding the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. More information can be found at this link.
At the bottom of the list, the rain-impacted CBS coverage of the PGA Tour Heritage Tournament drew 1.3 million and 2.15 million viewers, down nearly half from last year (2.5 million and 4.15 million). The Dinah Shore Championship, the final round on the LPGA Tour and the first major of the season, was flat in ratings with a 0.6 and 900,000 viewers on NBC, compared to a year ago (0.6, 929,000), a decrease of 3%.
ESPN tied Rangers vs. Braves for $900,000 and $1.62 million. sunday night baseballup 26% and 24% from last year's Mets vs. Giants (0.7, 1.31 million), respectively, and continues their strong start to the season. sunday night baseball This season averaged 1.74 million viewers, up 30% from a year ago (1.33 million).
Ahead of the baseball world, ESPN drew 600,000 and 1.34 million viewers for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Capitals and Rangers, the largest audience ever for a first-round opening game on cable. The previous record was set the day before by the Maple Leafs and Bruins on TBS and truTV (1.14 million). Despite being broadcast on ESPN2, opposite ESPN's baseball game, the Avalanche Jets drew 0.6 million to 1.09 million, ranking third among first-round openers on cable TV. Stanley See the previous link for more information on his Cup Playoff ratings.
In other action, CBS drew a 0.45 and 712,000 on PBR Bull Riding, which was the fewest CBS viewers for the series since December 30 (which had five telecasts). The English Premier League match between Liverpool and Fulham was tied at 0.42 and 772,000 viewers in the United States (0.26, 465,000 viewers) and Telemundo (0.16, 3,070,000 viewers), while ESPN Deportes gave Real Madrid a draw of 0.25 and 772,000 viewers. It had the highest viewership for La Liga this season with 507,000 viewers. Barcelona. The MLS game Charlotte vs. Minnesota was just 0.04 on FS1 with 88,000, followed by LA Galaxy vs. San Jose with 0.04 and 60,000 on FS1 and Fox Deportes combined.
The IndyCar Series in Long Beach earned a 0.17 and 307,000 on USA Network, down significantly from last year's NBC (0.6 and 1.03 million). In the UFL's first game on FS1, Arlington vs. Houston averaged 0.13 points per game, 243,000 points, clearly the lowest of the season.
Rounding out the day's games was UCLA vs. Stanford Softball on ESPN2, a tie at 0.13 and 223,000, followed by LSU vs. Tennessee at 0.10 and 168,000.
Sports evaluation for Sunday, April 21st
