FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 29th, 2016

NBCSN DELIVERS BEST QUARTER IN NETWORK HISTORY, HIGHLIGHTED BY 2016 RIO OLYMPICS

Golf Channel Posts its Most-Watched Third Quarter Ever

NBCSN Reached Record Quarter Highs in Total Day Viewership and Adult 18-49 & Adult 25-54 Demos

NBCSN Q3 Viewership in Adult 18-49 Demo Up 82% from ’15 – Best Growth of Any Cable Network

NBCSN Has Its Best-Ever Third Quarter in Primetime

STAMFORD, Conn. – September 29, 2016 – Buoyed by record viewership for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, NASCAR, the Premier League, IndyCar, Formula One, and extensive Rio 2016 Paralympic coverage, NBCSN posted the best quarterly performance in the network’s history in Total Day (6 a.m.-6 a.m.) viewership and key demographics, according to live plus same day data for the quarter (June 27-September 25) released by The Nielsen Company.

In addition, NBC Sports Group’s Golf Channel posted the network’s most-watched third quarter ever, since Arnold Palmer co-founded the network more than 21 years ago. The network and NBC Sports Group featured an unprecedented stretch of golf events in the quarter, including Golf Channel’s first-ever live coverage of a men’s major championship at The Open, exclusive coverage of golf’s return to the Olympics, and the PGA Tour’s season-ending FedExCup Playoffs. These unprecedented 12-weeks carry through to this week’s highly anticipated Ryder Cup.

NBCSN highlights:

  • For the third quarter, NBCSN averaged a record 286,000 Total Day viewers – topping last year by 49% (192,000), and exceeding the prior record-setting quarter by 33% (215,000 for the Sochi Olympics-highlighted first quarter of 2014).
  • In key demos, the network posted its best quarter ever with averages of 100,000 Adult 18-49 viewers (up 82% from last year) and 113,000 Adult 25-54 viewers (up 61% from ’15).
  • NBCSN’s 82% viewership growth in the Adult 18-49 demographic marks the largest third-quarter year-over-year increase of any cable network.
  • NBCSN delivered its best-ever third-quarter primetime viewership with an average of 454,000 viewers – up 48% from last year.
  • NBCSN was the #2 sports cable network in Total Day and primetime viewership for the third quarter.

 

Golf Channel highlights:

  • Golf Channel again delivered the most-affluent viewer on television with the highest median household income in both Total Day and primetime among all 24/7 television networks (both broadcast and cable).
  • The network’s Total Day average viewership (120,000) is its best ever in the third quarter, and an increase of 5% from last year (114,000). In addition, the network’s Total Day viewership in the Adult 25-54 demographic is up 10% from the third quarter of 2015.
  • The third quarter marks Golf Channel’s sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year viewership growth. Since becoming part of NBC Sports Group in 2011, Golf Channel has posted year-over-year growth in 17 of 23 quarters.

 

ADDITIONAL THIRD-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS:

  • NBCSN ranked #1 among all sports cable networks in August in Total Day average viewership (509,000), Adult 25-54 viewership (214,000 viewers), and Adult 18-49 viewership (202,000 viewers) – the first time NBCSN has ranked #1 in a month.
  • Golf Channel’s Friday, July 15, Total Day average (638,000 viewers) – driven by its presentation of the second round of The Open from Royal Troon (1.02 million viewers) – ranks as the most-watched day in the network’s history.
  • NBCSN’s coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup racing from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 24, averaged 5.2 million viewers – ranking as the network’s most-watched telecast on record.
  • NBC Sports Group delivered its best IndyCar season on record. The July 31 NBCSN/CNBC telecast of the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio averaged 929,000 viewers – ranking as NBC Sports Group’s most-watched IndyCar race ever.
  • NBCSN’s Arsenal-Liverpool match on Sunday, August 14 averaged 745,000 viewers – marking the most-watched Premier League opening weekend match ever on U.S. cable television.
  • NBC Olympics’ primetime coverage of the Rio 2016 Paralympics averaged 143,000 viewers on NBCSN, up 175% from the London Paralympic Games (52,000 viewers).

 

-NBC SPORTS GROUP-