or


[11/18/15 - 08:48 AM]
Annual State Farm Champions Classic Posts Second-Highest Rating in Five-Year History
ESPN spins the numbers for Tuesday, November 17.
[via press release from ESPN]

Annual State Farm Champions Classic Posts Second-Highest Rating in Five-Year History

College Football Playoff: Top 25 Earns Best Overnight Rating in Show History

ESPN's Action Continues with Early-Season Tournaments over Holiday Week

ESPN's coverage of the State Farm Champions Classic - No. 2 Kentucky's 74-63 win over No. 5 Duke and No. 13 Michigan State's 79-73 victory over No. 4 Kansas on Tuesday, Nov. 17 - averaged a 1.7 overnight rating for the doubleheader, the second-highest rating in the five-year history of the event (behind 2013, 2.7 average).

In addition, the Kentucky-Duke game ranked as the third-highest rated Champions Classic game with a 2.2 overnight rating, behind both games in 2013. (Kentucky-Michigan State, 2.6 & Kansas-Duke, 2.3).

This year's contests were the culmination of ESPN's eighth annual Tip-Off Marathon presented by Constant Contacts starting the season with 31 hours of continuous game and studio action from Monday, Nov. 16 through Tuesday, Nov. 17.

The Champions Classic is owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN.

ESPN Unveiled College Football Playoff: Top 25 Live from Chicago

In between the Champions Classic doubleheader, the latest College Football Playoff committee rankings were exclusively unveiled on College Football Playoff: Top 25 (approx. 9:30 p.m.). The 30-minute special earned a 1.8 overnight, ranking as the best overnight in the history of the show (14 episodes*).

*Includes four episodes where College Football Playoff rankings were not unveiled

Champions Classic Top-10 Metered Markets

Six markets were among the top-10 highest rated markets for both games of the Champions Classic doubleheader: Cincinnati, Dayton, Kansas City, Knoxville, Louisville and Memphis.

· Louisville led all markets for coverage of Kentucky's win over Duke with a 20.3 rating followed by Raleigh-Durham (9.3), Greensboro (7.8), Cincinnati (7.0), Greenville (5.1), Knoxville (5.0), Dayton (4.9), Kansas City (4.8), Charlotte (4.7) and Memphis (4.7).

· Kansas City was the highest-rated market for Michigan State's win over Kansas with an 8.2 rating followed by Louisville (3.6), Detroit (3.2), Birmingham (2.7), Cincinnati (2.1), Dayton (2.1), Richmond (2.0). Knoxville (1.9), Memphis (1.9), Las Vegas (1.8) and Nashville (1.8).

Men's College Basketball: Early-Season Tournaments Tip-Off

ESPN's men's basketball schedule continues during Feast Week presented by Lowe's - highlighted by several tournaments beginning Thursday, Nov. 19, and continuing through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend: Puerto Rico Tip-Off, Gildan Charleston Classic, 2K Classic, Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off, Maui Jim Maui Invitational, FanDuel Legends Classic and CBE Hall of Fame Classic.

Ranked teams in action include: No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Kentucky, No. 4 Kansas, No. 5 Duke, No. 6 Virginia, No. 13 Michigan State, No. 14 Indiana, No. 16 Utah, No. 17 Vanderbilt, No. 18 Notre Dame, No. 21 Purdue, No. 22 Butler and No. 23 LSU. Full schedule of week's game (Wednesday-Tuesday)

Annual State Farm Champions Classic Posts Strong Numbers for ESPN and WatchESPN

WatchESPN Nets Most-Watched College Basketball Game to Date

College Football Playoff: Top 25 Earns Best Viewership and Rating in Show History

ESPN's coverage of No. 2 Kentucky's 74-63 win over No. 5 Duke as part of the annual State Farm Champions Classic on Tuesday, Nov. 17, averaged 3,120,000 viewers, marking the second most watched Champions Classic game behind the 2013 Michigan State-Duke contest (4,002,000 viewers). The Champions Classic, in its fifth year, annually pits Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State against each other in the neutral-site, early-season men's doubleheader.

The Kentucky-Duke game was WatchESPN's most-watched college basketball game ever, attracting an additional 78,000 average minute impressions to the TV audience, 268,000 total unique viewers and 10,300,000 live minutes viewed - up 39 percent, 22 percent and 12 percent, respectively compared to the previous high (UNC-Duke on Feb. 18, 2015). Overall, the two Champions Classic games attracted 62,000 average minute impressions, up 83 percent compared to last year.

The doubleheader - which also included No. 13 Michigan State's 79-73 victory over No. 4 Kansas from the United Center in Chicago - averaged 2,485,000 viewers.

This year's contests were the culmination of ESPN's eighth annual Tip-Off Marathon presented by Constant Contact - which saw a 6% viewership increase over 2014 (595,000 vs. 560,000). The Marathon consisted of with 31 hours of continuous game and studio action from Monday, Nov. 16 through Tuesday, Nov. 17.

The Champions Classic is owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN.

ESPN Unveiled College Football Playoff: Top 25 Live from Chicago

In between the Champions Classic doubleheader, the latest College Football Playoff committee rankings were exclusively unveiled live onsite during College Football Playoff: Top 25. The 30-minute special averaged 3,033,000 viewers and a 1.9 HH rating, garnering the best numbers on record. (14 episodes includes four where College Football Playoff rankings were not unveiled)

Champions Classic Top-10 Metered Markets

Six markets were among the top-10 highest rated markets for both games of the Champions Classic doubleheader: Cincinnati, Dayton, Kansas City, Knoxville, Louisville and Memphis.

· Louisville led all markets for coverage of Kentucky's win over Duke with a 20.3 rating followed by Raleigh-Durham (9.3), Greensboro (7.8), Cincinnati (7.0), Greenville (5.1), Knoxville (5.0), Dayton (4.9), Kansas City (4.8), Charlotte (4.7) and Memphis (4.7).

· Kansas City was the highest-rated market for Michigan State's win over Kansas with an 8.2 rating followed by Louisville (3.6), Detroit (3.2), Birmingham (2.7), Cincinnati (2.1), Dayton (2.1), Richmond (2.0). Knoxville (1.9), Memphis (1.9), Las Vegas (1.8) and Nashville (1.8).

Men's College Basketball: Early-Season Tournaments Tip-Off

ESPN's men's basketball schedule continues during Feast Week presented by Lowe's - highlighted by several tournaments beginning Thursday, Nov. 19, and continuing through the Thanksgiving holiday weekend: Puerto Rico Tip-Off, Gildan Charleston Classic, 2K Classic, Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off, Maui Jim Maui Invitational, FanDuel Legends Classic and CBE Hall of Fame Classic.

Ranked teams in action include: No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Kentucky, No. 4 Kansas, No. 5 Duke, No. 6 Virginia, No. 13 Michigan State, No. 14 Indiana, No. 16 Utah, No. 17 Vanderbilt, No. 18 Notre Dame, No. 21 Purdue, No. 22 Butler and No. 23 LSU. Full schedule of week's game (Wednesday-Tuesday)





  [november 2015]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[08/26/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of August 18: "KPop Demon Hunters" Reigns as Netflix's Most Popular Film, Claims No. 1 in Top 10
"Wednesday" stayed on top of the English TV list for a third week with Wednesday Season 2, Part 1 claiming another 13.4 million views.
[08/26/25 - 08:24 AM]
"Sunday Night Baseball Presented by Capital One": Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees Draws ESPN's Second-Largest Audience of MLB Season: 2,572,000 Viewers
The game peaked with 2,889,000 viewers at 8:15 p.m. ET, according to Nielsen.

[08/20/25 - 11:07 AM]
Alicia Silverstone-Led Crime Drama "Irish Blood" Is the Biggest New Series Premiere in Acorn TV History
The August 11 premiere also drove the biggest day of subscriber sign-ups on Acorn TV's direct-to-consumer platforms in nearly two years.
[08/19/25 - 04:03 PM]
FX's "Alien: Earth" Premiere Episode Launches with 9.2 Million Views Globally After Six Days of Streaming
Future episodes of the eight-episode season will premiere each following Tuesday on Hulu beginning at 8 p.m. ET and on FX at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
[08/19/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of August 11: "Wednesday" Charms at No. 1 For Another Top 10 Week
"Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser," a three-part documentary exploring the reality show's biggest scandals, debuted at No. 2 in English TV with 7.5 million views.
[08/19/25 - 10:13 AM]
NBC Sports Delivers Most-Watched Premier League Opening Weekend in U.S., Headlined by Record-Setting Manchester United-Arsenal Match on NBC & Peacock
The Manchester United-Arsenal match on NBC, Peacock, and NBC Sports Digital platforms on Sunday, featuring 2024-25 PL runner-up Arsenal earning a 1-0 victory, averaged 2.0 million viewers.
[08/19/25 - 09:03 AM]
FOX Sports Delivers Network's Most-Watched NFL Preseason Game Since 2021
This past Sunday, 5.1 million viewers tuned in to FOX's preseason coverage of the Chicago Bears 38-0 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
[08/14/25 - 01:33 PM]
With 5 Million Cross-Platform U.S. Viewers in Its First Three Days, Sunday's Season Finale Episode of "The Gilded Age" Is the Fifth Consecutive Episode to Clinch a Series High
This season is well on track to become the most watched of the series.
[08/12/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of August 4: "Wednesday" Wins the Week - Season 2 Snaps Its Way to No. 1 in Top 10
Like the view from the top of El Capitan, "Untamed" held its place among the metaphorical clouds of the English TV List, now in the No. 3 spot with 7.2 million views.

[08/12/25 - 07:44 AM]
August 10 Edition of ESPN "Sunday Night Baseball Presented by Capital One" Draws Nearly Two Million Viewers for Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals Game
The audience peaked with 2,115,000 viewers at 9:15 p.m. ET.
[08/08/25 - 09:10 AM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Notches Summertime Win with Best Total Viewer Audience in Over Three Months
In addition, the show earned its best rating among Households in nine weeks and its best numbers among both Women 18-49 and Women 25-54 in five weeks.
[08/05/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of July 28: "Happy Gilmore 2" Continues to Swing Big at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
The Yosemite National Park-set thriller "Untamed" maintained the No. 1 spot on the English TV List for a third week with another 12.2 million views added to its accumulated 59.6 million total.
[08/05/25 - 11:01 AM]
ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" Featuring the Detroit Tigers vs. Philadelphia Phillies Averaged 2 Million Viewers - Up 72% from Last Year's Comparable Game
"Sunday Night Baseball" is averaging 1,680,000 million viewers, up seven percent from last year.

[08/05/25 - 10:27 AM]
ABC Airs One of Its Most-Watched WNBA Games This Season
The Indiana Fever's win over the Seattle Storm averaged 1.6 million viewers, peaking with 2.0 million.
[08/01/25 - 01:56 PM]
Matt Damon and Ken Jennings' Million Dollar Win Scores Big in Ratings for "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"
The series owns ABC's top two entertainment telecasts in Total Viewers summer to date with its week 2 episode (4.46 million) and season premiere (4.24 million).