FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 1st, 2020

NBCSN DELIVERS RECORD THIRD QUARTER PRIMETIME VIEWERSHIP, POWERED BY NHL STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS

NBCSN Posts Its Best Total Day Viewership of Any Non-Olympic Quarter 

GOLF Channel was #1 Single-Sport Network in Third Quarter Total Day Viewership; Ranked in Top 3 Among All Cable Sports Nets for First Time in History 

STAMFORD, Conn. – October 1, 2020 – Buoyed by the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs being played in August and September for the first time (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), NBCSN delivered its best third-quarter primetime viewership ever, according to live plus same day data for the quarter (June 29-Sept. 27) released by Nielsen.

NBCSN also registered its best Total Day (6 a.m.-6 a.m.) viewership in any quarter, excluding those with Olympics, as the Premier League, NASCAR, INDYCAR, and the rescheduled Tour de France added large audiences to daily NHL figures.

Featuring the conclusion of the PGA TOUR FedExCup Playoffs, U.S. Open, and Golf Central Live From the U.S. Open, GOLF Channel topped all single-sport networks in third-quarter Total Day viewership. In addition, for the first time in any quarter in the network’s history, GOLF Channel ranked in the top three among all sports cable networks in Total Day.

NBCSN & GOLF Channel highlights:

    • NBCSN averaged a record 506,000 third-quarter primetime viewers – more than doubling last year’s audience in the quarter (249,000), and topping the prior Q3 record by 11% (454,000 in 2016, which featured the Rio Olympics).

 

    • With 200,000 Total Day viewers, NBCSN delivered its best non-Olympic quarter ever, registering a 37% increase over last year’s third quarter (146,000).

 

    • NBCSN was the #2 sports cable network in Total Day and primetime viewership for the third quarter.

 

    • GOLF Channel’s Total Day viewership in the quarter (118,000) ranked #1 among all single-sport networks, posting a 33% increase from the same time period in 2019.

 

    • Among viewers in the Adult 25-54 demographic, GOLF Channel’s third quarter marked its most watched quarter in Total Day viewership in two years (Q3 in 2018, which featured The Open, Tiger Woods’ win at the TOUR Championship and the Ryder Cup), and delivered a 40% increase from last year’s third quarter.

 

Additional Highlights:

    • NBCSN delivered its most-watched September in primetime and Total Day viewership.

 

    • Excluding Olympic years, NBCSN registered its most-watched August in primetime and Total Day viewership.

 

    • The conclusion of the PGA TOUR Playoffs combined with the return of the U.S. Open to NBC Sports Group led to GOLF Channel’s second most-watched September ever (124,000). GOLF Channel also delivered its most-watched August (113,000) since 2017.

 

    • Early round coverage of the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR season after the restart on GOLF Channel was the most-watched for these events vs. the same/comparable 12 events since the start of the FedExCup format in 2007.

 

    • Live morning cable coverage of the rescheduled 2020 Tour de France posted its largest average audience (373,000) since 2010.

 

    • NBCSN’s presentation of the INDYCAR Mid-Ohio Race 1 on Sept. 12 averaged 633,000 viewers (TAD), ranking as NBCSN’s most-watched INDYCAR race since 2018’s season finale from Sonoma.

 

    • NBCSN ranked as the #1 cable network among average viewers during its NASCAR Cup Series race window seven times in 11 coverage weeks.

 

–NBC SPORTS GROUP-