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JAGUARS-CHIEFS ON NBC AND PEACOCK IS MOST-WATCHED SATURDAY AFTERNOON NFL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF SINCE AT LEAST 2015, WITH 34+ MILLION VIEWERS

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Audience Peaked at 37.3 Million Viewers on NBC in Game’s Final Minutes

Led by Peacock, Jaguars-Chiefs Sets NBC Sports NFL Streaming Record with 2+ Million Viewers for First Time, Excluding Super Bowls

STAMFORD, Conn. – Jan. 23, 2023 – NBC Sports’ presentation of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 27-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars last weekend is the most watched Saturday afternoon NFL Divisional Playoff game since at least 2015, averaging a Total Audience Delivery of 34.1 million viewers across NBC TV, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital, and NFL Digital platforms.

“What an exciting way to cap our coverage of the 2022 NFL season, with star quarterbacks in a one-score game for a berth in the AFC Championship Game,” said Pete Bevacqua, Chairman, NBC Sports. “We thank our best-in-class team for their creative effort and tireless work throughout the season, and look forward to watching the culmination of an exciting postseason.”

Highlighted by Patrick Mahomes and Trevor Lawrence combining for nearly 450 yards of offense and three touchdowns, the Jaguars-Chiefs audience peaked in the game’s final minutes at 37.3 million viewers on NBC from 7:15-7:34 p.m. ET.

Additional ratings and viewership notes:

  • The Jaguars-Chiefs viewership (34.1 million) slightly trails the 34.1 million viewers for the Jan. 10, 2015, AFC Divisional Playoff on NBC, as Tom Brady and the New England Patriots came from behind to defeat the Baltimore Ravens 35-31. A slight increase in final numbers tomorrow could elevate Jaguars-Chiefs to the most-watched Saturday afternoon NFL Divisional Playoff since Jan. 2013 (Ravens-Broncos on CBS).
  • Led by Peacock, Jaguars-Chiefs set an NBC Sports’ NFL streaming record (excluding Super Bowls), registering an Average Minute Audience of 2.02 million viewers (across Peacock, NBC Sports Digital, and NFL Digital Properties).
  • Saturday’s game (4:33 p.m.-7:34 p.m. ET) registered a national NBC TV household rating of 16.0/45.

Viewership figures are based upon preliminary data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics. Official national data for NBC will be available tomorrow.

TOP METERED MARKETS FOR JAGUARS-CHIEFS (based on 44 markets available):

1. Kansas City 45.1/85
2. Jacksonville 34.5/71
3. Cincinnati 25.8/59
4. Philadelphia 20.0/48
5. Dallas 19.9/57
6. St. Louis 19.5/52
T7. Providence 19.4/48
T7. West Palm Beach 19.4/47
9. Pittsburgh 18.7/46
10. Norfolk 18.5/46

–NBC SPORTS—

2022 College Football Playoff Semifinals on ESPN Score Most-Watched Non-New Year’s Day Semifinals of CFP Era with 22.1 Million Viewers

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The 2022 College Football Playoff Semifinals delivered a bevy of record-breaking viewership and history-making moments, securing the most-watched non-New Year’s Day Semifinals on record now with final Nielsen viewership figures. Across both of ESPN’s MegaCast presentations, the two games averaged 22.1 million viewers and 7.6 million P18-49 viewers on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. The audience is the best in the past five years and becomes the third-most watched Semifinals in the CFP era.

The post 2022 College Football Playoff Semifinals on ESPN Score Most-Watched Non-New Year’s Day Semifinals of CFP Era with 22.1 Million Viewers appeared first on ESPN Press Room U.S..

ESPN Platforms Score Most-Watched College Football Regular Season in Five Years

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It’s trophy-lifting season and ESPN is raising one of its own after a record-breaking college football regular season across ESPN platforms. ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 averaged a combined 2.1 million viewers, up 7 percent from 2021 and the most-watched regular season since 2017.

The post ESPN Platforms Score Most-Watched College Football Regular Season in Five Years appeared first on ESPN Press Room U.S..

ESPN Platforms Deliver Most-Watched Rivalry Week Since 2016

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ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 combined for their most-watched college football Rivalry Week since 2016, averaging 2.8 million viewers across the holiday weekend. ABC recorded its most-watched Rivalry Week since 2016, averaging 4.1 million viewers for six games on the broadcast slate. ESPN was up 38 percent year-over-year, with half a dozen games averaging 2.5 million viewers.

The post ESPN Platforms Deliver Most-Watched Rivalry Week Since 2016 appeared first on ESPN Press Room U.S..

ESPN College Football: ABC Airs Most-Watched November Saturday Since 2016

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In a weekend filled with upsets, top teams and thrillers, ESPN platforms came away the winner with ABC’s most-watched November Saturday since 2016. ESPN platforms delivered the top three most-viewed games of the weekend and its most-watched Week 12 since 2015. ABC and ESPN won every window (noon, afternoon, primetime, late prime) on the penultimate Saturday of the 2022 regular season, and ESPN won the night as the most-viewed network in primetime among all viewers and all key male and adult demos.

The post ESPN College Football: ABC Airs Most-Watched November Saturday Since 2016 appeared first on ESPN Press Room U.S..

ESPN Networks Top College Football Week 10 with Six of the Top 10 Most-Viewed Games – Alabama-LSU Overtime Thriller Delivers 7.6 Million Viewers

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ESPN networks won the noon, primetime and late night windows on Saturday and scored six of the top 10 most-viewed matchups of college football’s Week 10. This was the most-watched week of college football on ESPN in six years (since 2016’s Week 12), and ESPN networks remain on pace for their most-watched season since 2017.

The post ESPN Networks Top College Football Week 10 with Six of the Top 10 Most-Viewed Games – Alabama-LSU Overtime Thriller Delivers 7.6 Million Viewers appeared first on ESPN Press Room U.S..

ESPN Scores Six of Top 10 Most-Viewed College Football Games of Week 8, Continues Year-Over-Year Viewership Growth

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ESPN networks notched a banner viewership week as the 2022 college football season moved past its midpoint, delivering six of the top 10 most-viewed games of Week 8 and the top college football games in the noon, afternoon, primetime and late prime windows. In addition, ABC won the noon and afternoon windows across all networks.

The post ESPN Scores Six of Top 10 Most-Viewed College Football Games of Week 8, Continues Year-Over-Year Viewership Growth appeared first on ESPN Press Room U.S..

ESPN Delivers Its Most-Viewed College Football Kickoff Weekend Since 2016 – Notre Dame/Ohio State Scores 10.5 Million Viewers on ABC

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ESPN networks registered its best kickoff weekend since 2016 and second best since 2009. Across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, 17 games accounted for nearly 82 percent of all college football viewing this weekend across linear networks. A dozen of those 17 games recorded more than a million viewers and nine were above two million viewers.

The post ESPN Delivers Its Most-Viewed College Football Kickoff Weekend Since 2016 – Notre Dame/Ohio State Scores 10.5 Million Viewers on ABC appeared first on ESPN Press Room U.S..

USA NETWORK DELIVERS VIEWERSHIP MILESTONES AS CABLE HOME OF NBC SPORTS

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Expansive Programming Across NBC Sports on USA Network Has Grown Audiences Throughout 2022

STAMFORD, Conn. – Aug. 30, 2022 – USA Network has delivered numerous viewership milestones since expanding its slate of premium sports properties and events this year across the Premier League, NASCAR, the Olympic Games, USGA and The R&A Golf Championships, horse racing, cycling, track & field and more.

Since becoming the new cable network home for NBC Sports programming on Jan. 1, 2022, USA Network has grown sports event audiences alongside its fan-favorite entertainment content including last year’s top scripted cable launch “Chucky” and unscripted hits like “Miz and Mrs.”

“Sports have experienced sustained viewership increases across the board as part of our strategy transitioning key programming to USA Network. We look forward to continuing that upward trajectory into the fall season,” said Pete Bevacqua, Chairman, NBC Sports.

Below are viewership highlights for NBC Sports programming on USA Network:

Premier League

  • Two of the four most-watched Premier League matches on cable on record: Manchester City-Liverpool on April 10, 2022, with a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) average of 1.15 million viewers (#2 most watched cable Premier League match on record) and Chelsea-Liverpool on Jan. 2, 2022, with a TAD of 1.04 million viewers (#4 most watched).
  • The opening match of the 2022-23 Premier League season between Crystal Palace-Arsenal posted a TAD of 526,000 viewers, making it NBC Sports’ most-watched weekday opener on record, and the second-most watched opener on record (Manchester United-Tottenham on NBCSN in 2015; 651,000 viewers TAD).
  • Post-match coverage following Newcastle-Manchester City on Aug. 21, 2022, was NBC Sports’ most-watched Premier League post-game show on cable on record (582,000 viewers).

NASCAR

  • The race at Watkins Glen on Aug. 21, 2022, marked the sixth consecutive USA Network Cup Series race to deliver year-over-year viewership gains.
  • USA Network’s telecast from Atlanta on July 10, 2022, stands as the most-watched Cup Series race on cable (2.626 million TV-only viewers) since last year’s Darlington race (3.149 million on FS1, 5/9/21).

Beijing Olympics

  • Featuring live coverage of every Winter Games sport, USA Network was the top destination for sports and entertainment programming on cable and along with Tokyo Olympics coverage last summer, delivered the network’s most-watched 15-day span (Feb. 5-19) span since September 2018.
  • The Beijing Olympics averaged 1.4 million primetime viewers and 920,000 Total Day viewers – both the highest among all sports and entertainment cable networks during the Games.

Tokyo Olympics

  • Highlighted by live coverage of track & field, men’s and women’s beach volleyball, indoor volleyball and softball, USA Network was the top destination for sports and entertainment programming on cable, ranking as the #1 sports and entertainment cable network in primetime over the course of the Games with an average of 1.6 million viewers.
  • USA Network’s primetime viewership average was the best ever for any cable network during the Summer Olympics and featured cable’s three most-watched Summer Olympics nights ever.

Golf: U.S. Open & The Open Championship

  • Round 2 of the 2022 U.S. Open averaged a TAD of 1.17 million viewers, resulting in USA Network’s best weekday afternoon viewership since January 2017 (excluding Holidays).
  • Excluding the Olympics, the 150th Open Championship drove USA Network to its best week of viewership in more than two years (since May 2020).
  • With a TAD of 1.38 million viewers, 2022 delivered the most-watched early rounds for the Open Championship ever for NBC Sports and most-watched overall since 2015 on ESPN. The Round 1 TAD of 1.35 million viewers was the largest audience for that round since 2013 on ESPN.

Tour de France

  • USA Network posted the two most-watched weekday stages of the Tour de France in more than 10 years. With 554,000 viewers, the Friday July 15 telecast was the most-watched weekday stage since 2009. The competition the day prior (Thursday July 14) averaged 510,000 viewers which was the best weekday delivery since 2010.

Horse Racing

  • 2022 Kentucky Derby programming on Friday and Saturday delivered its best cable performance since 2019.
  • 559,000 viewers for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby undercard programming marked the second-best performance for the event in the last six years.
  • Friday’s Kentucky Oaks coverage averaged 244,000 viewers, the best for the event since 2019.

Track & Field

  • USA Network’s primetime coverage of the World Track & Field Championships Oregon22 on Friday July 22 averaged 783,000 TV-only viewers, NBC Sports’ second-most watched track & field cable telecast on record, excluding Olympics and U.S. Team Trials. It only trails the 2018 Indoor Championships, which had a Winter Olympics lead-in (1.306 million, NBCSN, Feb. 10).

–NBC SPORTS–