Ratings: NHL, NASCAR, preseason basketball, USMNT

The NHL’s red-hot start continues to sizzle, and it’s not just because of the talented Connor Bedard. Check out what’s been happening in the league lately!

The NHL’s Hot Streak Persists, Even Without Bedard on the Schedule

On Wednesday night, the Penguins-Red Wings game in the NHL regular season drew a whopping 699,000 viewers and achieved a 0.41 rating on TNT. This performance more than doubled last year’s Flyers-Panthers game in the same time slot (338K, 0.20 rating), making it the third most-watched game of the early season. However, it’s worth mentioning that Connor Bedard’s first two games still hold the top two spots.

In other action from week two, ESPN experienced a 4% increase in ratings and a 12% increase in viewership with the Lightning-Sabres game (0.29 rating, 552K) compared to last year’s Flyers-Lightning match (0.28 rating, 494K). ESPN also saw impressive numbers with Avalanche-Kraken (513K viewers, 51% increase) and Blackhawks-Avalanche (401K viewers) on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.

Thus far this season, NHL regular season games have pulled in an average of 679,000 viewers across ESPN and TNT (nine telecasts). This marks a 38% surge compared to the first two weeks of last season (490K).

NASCAR Experiences Decrease in Viewership at Las Vegas

The NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Las Vegas averaged a 1.3 rating and 2.19 million viewers on NBC last Sunday. Unfortunately, this represents an 18% decline in ratings and a 16% drop in viewership from last year’s race (1.6 rating, 2.62M viewers). It’s important to note that this year’s audience was the lowest for the race in the three years it has aired on broadcast television. Out of the last ten races, nine have posted a decline from the previous year.

Warriors-Lakers Preseason Game Hits a High Note

The preseason NBA game between the Warriors and Lakers received noteworthy attention, drawing an average of 777,000 viewers and achieving a 0.45 rating on ESPN2. This marks the highest preseason audience since 2019. Notably, the game outperformed the high school football lead-in (245K viewers). TNT also had a respectable showing with Heat-Spurs (561K viewers, 0.32 rating) on the same night.

In other preseason matchups, Warriors-Kings on ESPN Sunday night averaged 526,000 viewers (0.29 rating), while Bucks-Lakers managed 509,000 viewers (0.31 rating).

Switching gears to college basketball, the Big Ten Network garnered a 0.09 rating and 184,000 viewers for a women’s preseason game between DePaul and Iowa. This game, which featured the talented Iowa G Caitlin Clark, aired at the same time as the WNBA Finals on ABC.

USMNT Viewership on TNT Trends Upward

The friendly match between the United States and Germany in men’s soccer captured the attention of 610,000 viewers on TNT (including streaming on Max). This broadcast marked the largest audience for a USMNT game on TNT and the highest cable viewership for a USMNT friendly in the past five years. Throughout this year, TNT has averaged 409,000 viewers for its first eight USMNT matches, a 30% increase compared to last year’s comparable cable windows.

For more sports ratings, check out the latest weekly chart. You can find additional data from Programming Insider 10.18, 10.19, and Sports TV Ratings 10.20.