Through Thursday, round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs averaged 604,000 viewers across NBC’s TV and digital platforms — down 3% from the same point of last year’s playoffs (622K). Last year’s first round, which included three Game 7s, ended up averaging 778,000. This year’s first round ended Friday with no series going seven. Should the first round finish below 700,000, it would be the least-watched since 2013 (478K), with the caveat that many games had unusual weekday afternoon starts.

Games on cable have averaged 536,000 viewers (including streaming). Excluding weekday matinees, that average rises to 582,000 — behind only 2012 (583K) as the highest on cable at this point of the playoffs since NBC acquired rights.

Wednesday’s Canadiens-Flyers Game 5 averaged a 0.45 rating and 748,000 on NBCSN, ranking second for the playoffs on cable behind Game 1 of the same series (0.47, 764K). In the nightcap, Canucks-Blues Game 5 had a 0.28 and 431,000. Shifting to the afternoon, Hurricanes-Bruins Game 5 scored 519,000 despite a 4 PM ET start, bonus coverage of Coyotes-Avalanche Game 5 drew 444,000, and Blue Jackets-Lightning Game 5 had just 283,000 at Noon ET.

In other action, Capitals-Islanders Game 5 averaged a 0.41 and 659,000 on Thursday and Game 4 a 0.43 and 652,000 on Tuesday. Stars-Flames Game 6 drew a 0.27 and 411,000 in a late night window Thursday, not much higher than the afternoon Game 5 on Tuesday (380K).

Thursday’s NBA Draft Lottery averaged a 1.5 rating and 2.25 million viewers on ESPN, down 48% in ratings and 49% in viewership from last year, when Zion Williamson was in the draft pool (2.9, 4.43M), but down a more modest 6% and 7% respectively from 2018 (1.6, 2.42M).

The telecast ranks as the least-watched NBA Draft Lottery since at least 2007. Keep in mind that the event typically precedes an NBA conference final. This year, it aired between first round games.

Wednesday’s Bayern Munich-Lyon UEFA Champions League semifinal averaged 963,000 across Univision and TUDN, marking the largest UCL semifinal audience ever on a single U.S. outlet. The match, which peaked with 981,000 from 4-4:30 PM ET, surpassed the previous high of 879,000 set one day earlier on the same networks.

The four most-watched UCL semifinals have aired on Univision. As neither CBS All-Access nor CBS Sports Network are Nielsen-rated, figures for English-language coverage are not available.

The first five games of the Blues-Canucks Stanley Cup playoff series, which St. Louis lost in six Friday night, averaged a 6.5 rating in St. Louis across NBCSN and Fox Sports Midwest — down 27% from last year (8.9) per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Four of the first five games began at 9:30 PM local time. … Going head-to-head Tuesday night, ESPN averaged 366,000 viewers for Rays-Yankees while FS1 averaged 334,000 for Cardinals-Cubs. Despite cannibalizing each other, both games easily outdrew the networks’ other MLB windows this week, none of which cracked the 300,000 mark. … Opening round coverage of the Northern Trust, the first event of the PGA Tour Fedex Cup Playoffs, averaged 544,000 viewers on Golf Channel Thursday (+31%).

Last Sunday’s final round of the BMW Championship, the second event of the PGA Tour FedEx Cup, averaged a 2.2 rating and 3.44 million viewers on NBC — marking the highest rated and most-watched final round of the tournament in eight years (2012: 2.5, 3.6M). Ratings increased a tick and viewership 9% from last year (2.1, 3.15M).

Jon Rahm’s win — on a 66-foot playoff putt — delivered the third-best rating and viewership of the PGA Tour season, behind the final round at Pebble Beach in February (2.3, 3.51M) and the final round of the season’s only major thus far, the PGA Championship (3.3, 5.15M).

Third round coverage last Saturday averaged a 1.8 (+6%) and 2.62 million (+9%), marking the tournament’s highest rated third round since 2009 (2.1).

Lead-in coverage on Golf Channel averaged a 0.7 and 1.04 million on Saturday (both -7%) and a 0.6 (+19%) and 934,000 (+22%) on Sunday.

FOX averaged a 0.9 rating and 1.36 million viewers for regional Major League Baseball last Saturday afternoon (Braves-Phillies or Indians-Cardinals), marking its smallest MLB audience in two years. Not coincidentally, it was also the network’s first afternoon regional window in two years.

Elsewhere, Braves-Phillies earned a 0.8 and 1.20 million on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball (including ESPN2 Statcast coverage) — down 30% in ratings and 33% in viewership from week five of last season (5/5/19: Cardinals-Cubs: 1.1, 1.81M), but up a tick and 2% respectively from last year’s comparable date (9/1/19 Mets-Phillies: 0.7, 1.19M).

Earlier Sunday, a Yankees-Mets doubleheader had a 0.25 and 381,000 on TBS and a 0.18 and 303,000 on ESPN2. Cardinals-Reds had 340,000 and Padres-Rockies 231,000 on ESPN Monday.

The first three days of the US Open averaged approximately 481,000 viewers on ESPN and ESPN2, down 45% from the first three days last year (874K). This year’s tournament is facing unprecedented competition from the NBA and NHL playoffs. In addition, there has been more coverage on ESPN2 than at the same point last year due to ESPN’s NBA commitments.

The most-watched window thus far was Tuesday’s night session on ESPN, which averaged 687,000. By comparison, the first three night sessions last year each averaged at least 988,000, including two that topped the million mark.

Through Wednesday, the Tour de France averaged 349,000 viewers across NBC’s TV and digital platforms — the event’s best five-stage average since 2010. … Racing roundup: last Sunday’s F1 Belgian Grand Prix averaged a 0.42 rating and 675,000 viewers on ESPN, up 5% and 2% respectively from last year on ESPN2 (0.40, 660K); IndyCar’s doubleheader at Gateway Motorsports Park had a 0.29 and 445,000 on NBCSN Saturday and a 0.37 and 545,000 Sunday, both up considerably from last year’s lone race there (0.20, 310K); NASCAR’s Xfinity Series at Daytona rose double-digits to a 0.53 (+15%) and 876,000 (+24%) on NBCSN. … Premier Boxing Champions drew a 0.55 and 832,000 on FOX last Saturday, up 6% and 3% respectively from the previous week (0.52, 810K) and well ahead of ESPN’s overlapping UFC prelims (0.37, 564K). … The WNBA’s debut on CBS (Wings-Fever) posted a 0.29 and 403,000 last Saturday, falling just short of ABC’s preceding Storm-Sky game (0.32, 413K). Eight games this season have exceeded 400,000 viewers, doubling last year (four).

The PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship averaged a 1.2 rating and 2.00 million viewers across NBC and Golf Channel over Labor Day weekend, the tournament’s second-largest audience in 20 years. The 2018 edition, won by Tiger Woods, holds the top spot. Viewership increased 37% over last year, when the event was held in August.

Monday’s final round averaged a 2.4 rating and 4.01 million viewers in NBC’s primary 3-6 PM ET window — down a tick in ratings and 9% in viewership from last year (2.5, 4.38M). Figures for the full 1:30-6 PM ET telecast were not immediately available.

Last Sunday’s third round averaged a 1.9 (+58%) and 3.18 million (+87%). Golf Channel averaged a 1.0 and 1.57 million for second round action last Saturday, a 0.7 and 1.20 million for lead-in coverage last Sunday, and 674,000 viewers for Monday’s lead-in.

Thursday’s US Open women’s semifinals, which included Serena Williams’ three-set loss to Victoria Azarenka, averaged 1.55 million viewers on ESPN — down 17% from last year (1.87M), down 12% from 2018 (1.76M), and the lowest since 2016 (1.45M). In addition to the usual competition from the NFL Kickoff Game, this year’s semis also had to contend with NBA and NHL playoff games.

Last Saturday’s Padres-A’s Major League Baseball game averaged just a 0.44 rating and 694,000 viewers on the FOX broadcast network, easily the lowest rating and viewership ever for MLB on broadcast television. The game was originally scheduled for FS1 but moved up to FOX after the network lost a scheduled primetime window last month.

In other action, Cardinals-Cubs averaged a 0.7 and 1.21 million on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball last weekend — down 32% in ratings and 29% in viewership from the comparable week of last season (5/12/19 Brewers-Cubs: 1.0, 1.71M) and down 14% and 7% respectively from last year’s equivalent date, which coincided with Week 1 of the NFL season (Yankees-Red Sox: 0.8, 1.30M).

The same matchup averaged 596,000 on ESPN Labor Day afternoon.

ABC’s two UEFA Nations League matches last Saturday — Iceland-England (0.49, 729K) and Portugal-Croatia (0.29, 445K) — outdrew the same day’s primetime MLS on FOX (Atlanta-Orlando: 0.26, 421K) and return of the NWSL on CBS (Sky Blue-Washington: 0.26, 381K). … Ratings for last Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington fell 36% (from 1.1 to 0.7) and viewership 31% (from 1.70 to 1.18M); NBC’s coverage aired in an earlier window this year. Last Sunday’s NHRA eliminations on FOX (0.48, -22%; 814K, -14%) and F1 Italian Grand Prix on ESPN2 (0.35, -15%; 602K, -5%) also declined. … Tour de France coverage on NBC averaged a 0.6 and 937,000 last Saturday, off slightly from the network’s live morning stage last year (0.7, 1.05M). … Premier Boxing Champions averaged a 0.6 and 1.02 million in a rare Sunday night window on FOX last weekend, easily its most-watched telecast since its August 1 return.

The months-delayed induction of the 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame class — headlined by Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and the late Kobe Bryant — averaged 711,000 viewers on ESPN last Saturday evening. ESPN had not carried the event since Michael Jordan’s 2009 induction, which averaged 1.66 million in its usual September date. Figures for the previous induction in September 2019, which aired solely on NBA TV, were not available.

Last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover averaged a 1.5 rating and 2.43 million viewers on FS1, marking the largest audience at the track since 2018 — the last time the spring race there was run as scheduled (2.77M). Ratings increased 36% and viewership 37% from last year’s first Dover race, which took place on a Saturday in August as part of a doubleheader weekend (1.1, 1.77M).

The previous day’s Xfinity Series race at Dover drew a 0.47 and 734,000. It aired opposite IndyCar’s Indianapolis Grand Prix on NBC, which drew a 0.6 and 1.03 million — down 25% in ratings and 10% in viewership from last year, when it aired July 4 as the first half of an unprecedented NASCAR-IndyCar doubleheader (0.8, 1.14M). Versus the previous May edition in 2019, ratings fell a tick and viewership 4% (from 1.07M).

In other racing action, taped NHRA eliminations from Charlotte drew a 0.48 and 818,000 immediately following last Sunday’s aforementioned Cup race — the highest since the season opener (albeit a span of just three races).

Cardinals-Padres averaged a 0.8 rating and 1.35 million viewers on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball last weekend, down 23% in ratings and 21% in viewership from the seventh Sunday night game in 2019 (5/12/19 Brewers-Cubs: 1.0, 1.71M). Compared to the seventh game of last year’s delayed, shortened season — Cardinals-Cubs on Labor Day weekend — ratings increased a tick and viewership 13% (from 1.21M). It ranks as the least-watched Sunday night game thus far.

The same matchup drew a 0.30 and 509,000 on FS1 the previous night, preceded by A’s-Twins at a 0.17 and 287,000. Going back to last week, ESPN drew a 0.30 and 515,000 for Yankees-Rays May 11.

Last Sunday’s Sam Houston State-South Dakota State NCAA FCS national championship, which was delayed more than an hour during the second quarter due to lightning, averaged a 0.55 rating and 905,000 viewers on ABC — down 69% in ratings and 66% in viewership from last year, when it took place in January (1.8, 2.69M). It was the least-watched FCS title game since at least 2012. … Rain-delayed final round coverage of the PGA Tour Byron Nelson tournament averaged a 1.1 and 1.84 million on CBS last Sunday, down 31% in ratings and 24% in viewership from the last time the event was held in 2019 (1.6, 2.45M). The previous day’s third round was higher at a 1.2 and 1.96 million, up 20% and 34% respectively from 2019 (1.0, 1.47M). … The second edition of The Spring League on FOX averaged a 0.28 and 448,000 last weekend, up 17% from the previous week (0.24, 380K). … UFC 262 prelims averaged a 0.45 and 787,000 on ESPN last Saturday, down 8% and 17% respectively from the previous PPV prelims last month (0.45, 951K).

Last Sunday’s Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix averaged a 0.6 rating and 934,000 viewers on ESPN2, marking the largest live audience for the event since it last aired on broadcast network NBC in 2017. Viewership increased 1% from the last time the race was held in 2019 (925K) and 14% from 2018 (820K), both of which aired on the ESPN flagship.

Max Verstappen’s win delivered the fourth-largest F1 audience ever on cable. An encore presentation on ABC averaged a 0.49 and 763,000 later Sunday, flat and up 8% respectively from ’19 (0.49, 705K).

The inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race from Circuit of the Americas (Austin, Tex.) averaged a 1.4 rating and 2.36 million viewers on FS1 last Sunday, the least-watched race of the season (second-least watched including a Sunday make-up race at Martinsville in April). Ratings fell a tick and viewership 3% from the previous week’s race at Dover (1.5, 2.43M).

The Xfinity Series race there had a 0.58 and 947,000.

Regional Major League Baseball action on FOX (Red Sox-Phillies in a plurality of markets) averaged a 1.4 rating and 2.59 million viewers last Saturday night, down a tick in ratings but up 10% in viewership from the network’s first telecast in 2019 (ft. Cubs-Nationals: 1.5, 2.36M). The telecast outdrew all-but-one FOX window during last year’s delayed, shortened season.

In other action, Cubs-Cardinals drew a 0.9 and 1.53 million on the latest edition of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, up a tick and 17% respectively from the eighth Sunday night window in 2019 (5/19/19 Cubs-Nationals: 0.8, 1.31M). Compared to the eighth Sunday night game last season, a September Astros-Dodgers game that faced Sunday Night Football, ratings jumped 80% (from 0.49) and viewership 71% (from 896K).

Going back to last week, ESPN pulled a 0.44 (-19%) and 703,000 (-11%) for Mets-Braves on May 17 and a 0.29 and 462,000 for Yankees-Rangers on May 18. FS1 drew a 0.22 and 372,000 for Brewers-Reds last Friday.

WNBA games have averaged 357,000 viewers on ESPN/ABC so far this season (five telecasts), down from the same number of games both last year (361K) and 2019 (397K). Keep in mind that two of the five games have aired on ESPN2, compared to zero at the same point in 2020 and 2019. … The latest edition of ESPN’s Top Rank Boxing, featuring the Josh Taylor–Jose Ramirez undisputed junior welterweight title fight, averaged a 0.56 rating and 995,000 viewers last Saturday night — the largest audience for the series since last December. Coverage preempted part of an ESPN NBA playoff game. … The latest edition of The Spring League football averaged a mere 0.23 and 283,000 on FOX, trailing the previous two weeks (0.28, 448K; 0.24, 380K). … Indy 500 qualifying averaged just a 0.39 and 600,000 on NBC last Saturday and a 0.39 and 649,000 last Sunday, both well below last year’s months-delayed telecasts (0.54, 824K; 0.63, 933K).

Sunday’s Novak Djokovic-Stefanos Tsitsipas French Open men’s final averaged 1.9 million viewers on NBC, up 19% from last year’s months-delayed October final (Rafael Nadal-Djokovic: 1.58M) and up 6% from the last time the final aired as scheduled in 2019 (Nadal-Dominic Thiem: 1.79M).

Djokovic’s five-set win ranks as the most-watched French Open men’s final since 2016 (2.00M).

The Djokovic-Nadal semifinal on Friday averaged 1.1 million across NBC and NBCSN, the largest audience for a men’s semifinal since 2013.

In other action, the Barbora Krejcikova-Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova women’s final averaged just 954,000 on NBC Saturday morning — up 25% from an all-time low of 763,000 for Iga Świątek-Sofia Kenin last October, but down 8% from Ashleigh Barty-Markéta Vondroušová in ’19.

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race from Texas averaged a 1.6 rating and 2.74 million viewers on FS1, the largest audience for the event since 2017 (2.87M). The race, which peaked at 2.9 million viewers, increased 29% in ratings and 32% in viewership from last year’s rescheduled, midweek edition from Bristol (1.3, 2.08M). Compared to 2019, the last time the All-Star Race took place in May from Charlotte, ratings and viewership increased 17% and 12% respectively (from 1.4, 2.44M).

In other NASCAR action, the Xfinity Series from Texas averaged a 0.61 and 957,000 — down slightly from last year on NBCSN (0.63, 973K) — and the Truck Series event there drew a 0.40 (+38%) and 625,000 (+40%).

Shifting to other series, the debut of the SRX averaged 1.30 million on CBS Saturday night. Outside of the NASCAR Cup Series, that ranks as the fifth-largest motorsports audience this year — behind the Indy 500, NASCAR Xfinity Series at Daytona (1.61M) and Talladega (1.60M) and Sunday’s IndyCar Detroit Grand Prix on NBC, which aired in a shortened window due to the French Open (1.38M).

Speaking of that IndyCar race, the audience of 1.38 million ranks as the largest of the season outside of the Indy 500, with the caveat that much of NBC’s window was preempted by the French Open. Race one on Saturday averaged 845,000, bringing the weekend average up to 954,000 — up 3% from the last time the doubleheader was held in 2019 (931K).

Regional Major League Baseball action on FOX (featuring Cardinals-Cubs) averaged 2.38 million viewers last Saturday night, down 7% from the comparable 2019 window, which featured the same matchup (2.56M).

The following night, another Cardinals-Cubs game averaged 1.56 million on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball — down a fraction of a percent from the same matchup in ’19 (1.57M).

Going back to last week, ESPN pulled 568,000 for Cubs-Pirates on June 7 (+10%) and 490,000 for Royals-Angels last Wednesday.

Tuesday’s Clippers-Suns NBA Western Conference Finals Game 2 averaged 5.27 million viewers on ESPN, up 66% from last year’s Nuggets-Lakers Game 2 in the “bubble” — which aired opposite Sunday Night Football (3.17M) — but down a third from the comparable Blazers-Warriors Game 2 in 2019 (7.88M). Viewership topped every game of last year’s Lakers-Nuggets series.

The Suns’ narrow win, which peaked with 7.09 million at 11:45 PM ET, increased 16% over Sunday’s Game 1 on ABC (4.53M).

The preceding NBA Draft Lottery averaged just a 1.3 rating and 2.19 million viewers, down 11% and 3% respectively from last year (1.5, 2.25M) and the smallest audience for the event since at least 2007.

Tuesday’s Canadiens-Golden Knights NHL semifinal Game 5 averaged a 0.54 rating and series-low 963,000 viewers on NBCSN, up 15% in ratings and 16% in viewership from Stars-Golden Knights in the “bubble” last year — which aired opposite Monday Night Football (0.47, 829K) — but down 53% and 47% respectively from Blues-Sharks on the NBC broadcast network in 2019 (1.1, 1.81M).

Game 4 on Sunday night drew a series-high 1.32 million viewers, down 21% from last year on NBC (1.68M) but down just 3% from 2019 on NBCSN (1.37M) — the closest any third round game has come to 2019 thus far. Game 3 last Friday had 983,000, up 24% from last year (790K) but down 29% from ’19 (1.39M).

Shifting to the other semifinal, Islanders-Lightning Game 5 averaged a 0.65 rating and 1.27 million on NBCSN Monday — up 2% in ratings and 5% in viewership from the same matchup last year (0.64, 1.10M). Game 4 pulled 1.32 million viewers on USA Saturday, up 40% from last year, when coverage aired on NBC but faced the NFL (944K), and down 29% from Bruins-Hurricanes in ’19 (1.86M).

A 7-inning Cardinals-Braves Sunday Night Baseball game averaged just 931,000 viewers on ESPN over the weekend, down 49% from the comparable window in 2019 (Cubs-Dodgers: 1.84M) and the least-watched Sunday night game this season. The game aired opposite an NBA Game 7 (Hawks-Sixers: 6.16M) and partially overlapped with the final round of golf’s U.S. Open.

The previous day, regional MLB action on FOX (Reds-Padres or White Sox-Astros) averaged 1.41 million — the least-watched FOX telecast of the season. The window was originally scheduled to include Cardinals-Braves, but the game was postponed. FS1 chipped in 261,000 for Tigers-Angels later in the night.

In other action, TBS averaged 359,000 for its season debut of A’s-Yankees last Sunday afternoon — unsurprisingly down 46% from its first game last season, which aired on the opening weekend of the months-delayed season (7/26/20 Yankees-Nationals: 659K). Compared to the network’s 2019 opener, viewership fell a more modest 9% (7/7/19 Yankees-Rays: 395K).

Going back to last week, ESPN averaged 445,000 for Red Sox-Braves last Wednesday — down 30% from 2019 (Brewers-Astros: 632K). The previous night’s Cubs-Mets game was healthier at 624,000, up 1% from Mets-Yankees in ’19 (617K). The same matchup drew 733,000 on June 14, the top weeknight MLB game since May 5.

Coverage of UEFA “Euro 2020” averaged 965,000 viewers on ESPN and ABC through last Saturday, up a third from 2016 (723K). That includes a tournament-high 1.83 million for Saturday’s Portugal-Germany match on ESPN, the event’s third-largest group stage audience since ESPN/ABC acquired rights in 2008. Only a pair of 2012 matches — Italy-Spain (2.19M) and Germany-Portugal (1.95M) — rank higher.

Four of the six largest group stage audiences have come this year alone, with France-Germany on June 15 ranking fourth (1.55M), England-Scotland last Friday fifth (1.54M) and Spain-Poland on Saturday sixth (1.51M).

The ESPY Awards averaged 1.21 million viewers on ABC last Saturday, the second-smallest audience ever for the event. Viewership more-than-doubled the all-time low set last year, when the show aired on tape-delay with no fans, during a months-long sports hiatus, and on cable (482K). Compared to the last traditional ESPYs in 2019, which aired on a Wednesday night, viewership fell 69% from 3.87 million.

Keep in mind that this year’s ESPYs took place on a night full of live sporting events, a departure not just from last year, but from the norm. Typically, the event airs during the dead period between the MLB All-Star Game and second half of the season. It ranked dead last among Saturday night shows on broadcast television, trailing the SRX racing series on CBS (1.28M).

Prior to the past two years, the ESPY Awards had never dipped below 1.98 million viewers.

Last Saturday’s UFC 264 prelims, which preceded the Dustin Poirier-Conor McGregor main event, averaged 1.62 million viewers on ESPN — the largest UFC audience since UFC 246 prelims in January of last year, which preceded McGregor’s return from a lengthy hiatus. Viewership increased 49% from the previous PPV prelims last month (1.09M).

Figures do not include the ‘early prelims’ that averaged 830,000.

The actual main event itself generated 1.3 million buys on ESPN+ and an additional 500,000 international buys, according to John Ourand of Sports Business Journal.

Regional Major League Baseball on FOX (Yankees-Astros, Cubs-Cardinals or Reds-Brewers) averaged 2.46 million viewers last Saturday, up 2% from 2019 (2.41M) and the third-largest audience of the season on any network. Earlier in the day, FS1 chipped in 289,000 for A’s-Rangers.

On Sunday, TBS pulled 420,000 for Yankees-Astros — up 6% from 2019 (Yankees-Rays: 395K).

Going back to last week, ESPN averaged 578,000 for Dodgers-Marlins on July 7, 529,000 for White Sox-Twins on July 5 (-23%), 483,000 for Phillies-Cubs last Thursday (-17%)*, 446,000 for Red Sox-Angels on July 5, and 285,000 for Yankees-Mariners on July 6.

* Comparable 2019 game aired on July 4.

The latest edition of the SRX on CBS averaged 1.28 million viewers last Saturday night, up 20% from the previous week’s series-low of 1.07 million. … The United States’ men’s basketball team’s loss to Nigeria last Saturday averaged 399,000 on NBCSN, up 17% from the first U.S. exhibition in 2016, which aired on NBA TV (341K). … Last Thursday’s National Spelling Bee finals averaged 229,000 on ESPN2, down an unsurprising 59% from the last time it was held in 2019, when it aired on ESPN (555K).

Despite facing the Olympics, last Saturday’s Mexico-Honduras Gold Cup quarterfinal averaged 3.09 million viewers on Univision and TUDN — up 3% from El Tri’s 2019 quarterfinal (2.99M). It trails only Mexico-El Salvador the previous Sunday (3.79M) as the most-watched match of the tournament.

On Sunday, United States-Jamaica averaged 1.61 million on Univision and TUDN — about even with the USMNT’s 2019 quarterfinal against Curacao (1.6M). The same match averaged 705,000 on FS1 (including pre-match coverage), down 55% from that ’19 match (1.55M).

Facing the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics, the first round of the NHL Draft averaged 268,000 on ESPN2 Friday night — up 3% from last year, when the event aired in November on NBCSN (259K). Compared to the 2019 draft, which aired on NBCSN in June, viewership declined 27% from 365,000.

Two nights earlier, the Seattle Kraken expansion draft averaged a substantially stronger 637,000 on ESPN2. The previous expansion draft — for the Golden Knights in 2017 — was part of an NHL Awards telecast that averaged 595,000 on NBCSN.

Facing the Olympics, White Sox-Brewers averaged 828,000 viewers on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball last weekend — down 38% from Nationals-Braves in 2019 (1.33M) and the least-watched Sunday night game this season. Yankees-Red Sox averaged 364,000 on TBS earlier in the day, down 13% from ’19 (Rockies-Yankees: 416K).

Another Yankees-Red Sox game drew 470,000 on FS1 the previous day, up 74% from ’19 (Mets-Giants: 270K), while the Rays-Indians nightcap drew 344,000.

Going back to last week, ESPN averaged 509,000 for Cubs-Cardinals last Wednesday night and 776,000 for the same matchup two nights earlier (+17%).

Facing the Olympics, last Sunday’s final round of the PGA Tour Twin Cities Open averaged 1.93 million viewers on CBS — down 26% from last year (2.60M) and down 15% from the inaugural edition in 2019 (2.28M). Despite the Olympic competition, the telecast does not rank as the least-watched final round on broadcast this season, clocking in ahead of the John Deere Classic two weeks earlier (1.52M) and the Byron Nelson back in May (1.84M).

Formula 1 racing is averaging 946,000 viewers through 11 races this season, up 47% from the first 11 races of last year’s delayed, shortened season (645K) and up 39% from the same number of races in 2019 (681K). Viewership is up 56% over last year’s full-season average (608K) and up 41% over the full 2019 season (672K).

Last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix averaged 964,000 viewers, a record for any F1 race from Hungary, and the seventh-largest F1 audience ever on cable. Esteban Ocon’s win, which peaked with 1.1 million from 10:45-11 AM ET, jumped 37% from last year (703K).

Facing the Summer Olympics, Red Sox-Rays averaged 978,000 viewers on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball last weekend — down 49% from last year (1.91M) and 59% from 2019 (2.40M), both of which pit the Yankees against the Red Sox. Keep in mind the comparable weekend last year was the second of the delayed, abbreviated season.

Earlier in the day, TBS drew 214,000 for Indians-White Sox — down 34% from last year (Mets-Braves: 324K) and down 47% from 2019 (Dodgers-Nationals: 400K).

The Olympic competition also sank the previous day’s FOX doubleheader of A’s-Angels (210K) and Twins-Cardinals (281K), which fell 67 and 36 percent respectively from 2019 (Yankees-Red Sox: 643K; Astros-Cardinals: 442K). There were no comparable windows last year.

Going back to the previous week, ESPN drew 478,000 for Yankees-Rays on July 28 (-39%) and 456,000 for Blue Jays-Red Sox on July 26 (also -39%).

Airing immediately following the Gold Cup final, last Sunday’s Combate Global mixed martial arts card averaged 946,000 viewers on Univision — topping the previous night’s UFC on ESPN main event (797K). Per Univision, last week marked the first time that any competing MMA organization has outdrawn the UFC on ESPN on the same weekend.

Viewership increased 77% over the previous Combate Global event in May (533K).

As for the UFC, the audience of 797,000 marked the series’ least-watched main event since an ESPN2 card back in June (275K), and its least-watched on ESPN since May (741K). The previous week’s main event had 868,000. The UFC faced the Olympics in both weeks.

Wednesday’s Cardinals-Dodgers National League Wild Card game averaged 6.67 million viewers on TBS, trailing only Cubs-Pirates in 2015 (8.30M) as the network’s largest audience ever for the Wild Card round. Across all networks, it ranks seventh out of the 20 total standalone Wild Card games. Regardless of round, it was the most-watched MLB telecast on TBS since Game 4 of the 2018 Red Sox-Yankees ALDS, topping every game of the last two postseasons and the full 2018 ALCS.

The Dodgers’ walk-off win, which peaked with 7.4 million from 10-10:15 PM ET, jumped 41% from the previous standalone NL Wild Card Game in 2019 — which also aired on TBS (Brewers-Nationals: 4.73M).

As one would expect, it was no match for the previous night’s Yankees-Red Sox AL Wild Card Game on ESPN and ESPN2 (7.69M). Like Yankees-Red Sox, Cardinals-Dodgers was television’s top program in each of the key adult demographics, trouncing the top non-sports programs in adults 18-49 (1.7, ahead of a 0.9 for “Survivor”) and 18-34 (1.3, ahead of a 0.6 for “The Masked Singer”).

St. Louis topped all markets Wednesday with a 23.0 rating, its highest MLB rating since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. Keep in mind the Cardinals made the NLCS in 2019. Los Angeles turned in a 12.3, peaking at a 17.3.

Monday’s NASCAR Cup Series makeup race at Talladega, won by Bubba Wallace, averaged 1.16 million viewers on NBCSN — down 25% from the last time the fall race was run on a Monday two years ago (1.54M). Last year’s “spring” Talladega race, which ran on a Monday in June, aired on FOX and averaged 3.36 million. Keep in mind last year’s race attracted greater-than-usual national interest because of an incident involving Wallace.

The Xfinity Series race at Talladega, which was run as scheduled, averaged a 0.6 (+21%) and 983,000 (+20%) on Saturday afternoon.

Wednesday’s Sun-Sky WNBA semifinal Game 4 averaged a 0.31 rating and 491,000 viewers on ESPN, the largest WNBA playoff audience outside of the WNBA Finals since the current playoff format began in 2016. The last pre-Finals game with a larger audience was Game 2 of a Liberty-Mystics first round series in 2015 (512K). The Aces-Mercury nightcap turned in a 0.24 and 383,000.

Going back to the weekend, Sun-Sky Game 3 drew a 0.20 and 340,000 on ESPN Sunday afternoon, followed by a 0.23 and 334,000 for Aces-Mercury Game 3 on ABC. Both games increased double-digits from the respective windows last season, Aces-Sun Game 4 (0.17, 251K) and Storm-Lynx Game 3 (0.19, 271K).

Coverage of the English Premier League is averaging 608,000 viewers across the NBC networks this season, including additional streaming data not tracked by Nielsen — up 31% from last year and the best start to the season since 2015-16. … Last weekend’s season finale of MLB on FOX averaged a 0.9 and 1.65 million, up 31% in ratings and 47% in viewership from last year (0.7, 1.12M). TBS chipped in a mere 118,000 for Brewers-Dodgers on the final day of the season (-33%), its smallest audience of the season. … Last week’s Flyers-Bruins NHL preseason game, the first NHL game ever on TNT, averaged a 0.14 and 232,000 viewers. The Golden Knights-Kings nightcap chipped in 133,000. TNT’s NBA preseason debut Tuesday night (Bucks-Grizzlies) drew 424,000.