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St. Louis Blues TV Ratings Drop 25%

Jason Barrett

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It seems as if Blues fans, at least in terms of television ownership, are tired of the team’s big story. You know, big expectations, big hype, big regular season — then a big bust in the playoffs.

According to Nielsen, which measures TV viewership, Blues ratings on local carrier Fox Sports Midwest are down a whopping 25 percent this season over the same stage last year. FSM has televised all but seven of their contests, with the others being shown on NBCSN.

And NBCSN’s ratings in St. Louis for its Blues games have followed the local lead, as Nielsen says they’ve dropped just under 25 percent.

Losing a quarter of the audience is a massive decline, something that if it happened for a network program or local TV newscasts would lead to major upheaval. But in the Blues’ case it’s not the quality of the telecasts or those on the air that is the problem. And it’s not the product that is being shown, either. The Blues are among the best in the West — again. But it’s the track record of the team, with three consecutive first-round playoff exits following much regular-season success, that could be a key factor.

Fans, at least from a TV viewership standpoint, seem to be saying what the NHL’s critics blare — the regular season is too long, with not enough meaning in the grand picture. Add the fact the team doesn’t score much and it’s that recipe that probably has created the big dip.

An eventual fall in viewership for the Blues seemed inevitable, given the recent run of success. FSM had experienced a rating increase for six consecutive years, culminating with Nielsen saying an average of 4.9 percent of homes in the market with a TV turned in last season. FSM’s figure heading into Thursday’s contest, for which the rating is not yet available, was 3.5.

Despite the drop, FSM reports that the Blues are drawing the fourth-best ratings among U.S.-based NHL teams for their local telecasts, are the top-rated cable program in St. Louis most of the time and that ratings are up for the last month. Also pointed out is that their contest Sunday, at Tampa, outrated the NBA All-Star Game later that night by 36 percent.

To read more visit STL Today where this article was originally published

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ESPN Coverage of Men’s NIT Tournament Quarterfinals Up 33% vs. 2023

Viewership of the Men’s NIT Quarterfinals on ESPN were up 33 percent compared to last year and featured two games that averaged over one million viewers.

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Even the NIT is riding the recent hot streak of live sports viewership numbers. According to data provided by ESPN, the 2024 NIT Quarterfinals are up 33 percent compared to last year’s tournament. Perhaps more surprisingly, two NIT quarterfinal games topped one million viewers.

The network’s Georgia/Ohio State matchup averaged 1.03 million viewers, while the Cincinnati/Indiana State contest averaged 1.02 million viewers. These two games were the most-watched NIT games since 2017 — including title games. Both Georgia and Ohio State have rabid fanbases, while many thought Indiana State was unjustly left out of the March Madness tournament, which could be a reason why viewers tuned in.

Much of the focus this season has been on the women’s game, thanks to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, led by Dawn Staley. ESPN just had its most-watched women’s college basketball season since 2008-09 because of the increased interest in the women’s game. The men’s game, however, hasn’t been heralded as much this season for whatever reason, mostly because numbers seem to be holding steady compared to previous years. However, if the NIT is posting viewership wins, that should bode well for the NCAA Tournament’s incoming viewership totals.

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Report: NFL to Put Christmas Day Doubleheader Up For Bids

Bidding is expected to start at $50 million among the current NFL media partners but some think the games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

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The NFL will reportedly put its Christmas Day games up for auction, allowing its current media partners to bid for the games. Now, it’s up to CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video to pay up for rights to one of these two marquee games.

According to Front Office Sports Michael McCarthy, preference will be given to linear networks, so Prime Video and Peacock may sit this one out. Bidding is expected to start at $50 million but McCarthy and his sources expect that number to rise. John Kosner, the former ESPN executive, thinks the new Christmas Day games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

The NFL announced a Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader during its annual league meetings. The league originally said it wouldn’t force games on Christmas Day if the holiday fell on an odd day of the week, though as the NFL continues to put games on days outside of Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays, we’re running out of days that don’t feature NFL football.

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Colorado Rockies & DirecTV Reach Agreement to Carry Games on TV

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination for their favorite local teams. We will continue to work with MLB…so fans can get their games.”

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Colorado Rockies

Breathe easy, Rockies fans — you will be able to watch your club on linear TV this year. At the buzzer, DirecTV and the Colorado Rockies agreed on terms to distribute the team’s games throughout its local service.

Starting today, DirecTV Choice subscribers across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Southern Idaho, Western Nebraska, and Northern New Mexico can now watch the Rockies on a special channel simply titled, “ROCKIES.” The games will be available on DirecTV and DirecTV STREAM via channel 683.

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination to get all their favorite local teams,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer of DIRECTV. “We will continue to work with MLB, the NBA, NHL, and other top leagues and their local franchises so the most avid fans can get the games they want while other customers have more choice over the content they want to pay to have in their homes.”

Reports just days ago out of Colorado said there were “no guarantees” the Rockies would not find a TV home in time for Opening Day following the sunsetting of AT&T SportsNet. The only other way to watch the team is to use its direct-to-consumer Rockies.tv streaming service, which fans say is too pricey for a team that lost 103 games last season. Luckily, the team was able to secure a TV home for 2024, though the future is still uncertain.

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