Crawford-Benavidez ESPN Show Averaged 2.245 Million Viewers
Posted: 16 Oct 2018, 15:23
More viewers tuned in to watch ESPN’s boxing broadcast Saturday night than for any of the network’s telecasts of the sport since Manny Pacquiao-Jeff Horn.
According to Nielsen Media Research ratings released Tuesday, an average of 2,245,000 viewers watched the nearly two-hour show that featured Terence Crawford in the main event. The undefeated Crawford stopped Jose Benavidez Jr. in the 12th round of their welterweight title fight at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
The ratings for the Crawford-Benavidez broadcast were by far the highest of any boxing telecast in 2018. ESPN has an advantage over Showtime and HBO, however, in that the basic cable network is available in approximately 86 million homes, many more than HBO (32 million) and Showtime (24 million), both premium cable channels.
Regardless, it was ESPN’s most-watched boxing show since Horn upset Pacquiao in July 2017 in Brisbane, Australia, Horn’s hometown, to win the WBO welterweight title. That telecast was watched by an average of 2.8 million viewers and peaked at 4.4 million.
A strong college football lead-in to the Crawford-Benavidez show – top-ranked Alabama’s victory over Missouri – seemingly strengthened the Crawford-Benavidez ratings. The telecast started at approximately 10:25 p.m. ET, immediately after Alabama beat Missouri, 39-10, in an SEC game that averaged 3,758,000 viewers.
According to Nielsen Media Research ratings released Tuesday, an average of 2,245,000 viewers watched the nearly two-hour show that featured Terence Crawford in the main event. The undefeated Crawford stopped Jose Benavidez Jr. in the 12th round of their welterweight title fight at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
The ratings for the Crawford-Benavidez broadcast were by far the highest of any boxing telecast in 2018. ESPN has an advantage over Showtime and HBO, however, in that the basic cable network is available in approximately 86 million homes, many more than HBO (32 million) and Showtime (24 million), both premium cable channels.
Regardless, it was ESPN’s most-watched boxing show since Horn upset Pacquiao in July 2017 in Brisbane, Australia, Horn’s hometown, to win the WBO welterweight title. That telecast was watched by an average of 2.8 million viewers and peaked at 4.4 million.
A strong college football lead-in to the Crawford-Benavidez show – top-ranked Alabama’s victory over Missouri – seemingly strengthened the Crawford-Benavidez ratings. The telecast started at approximately 10:25 p.m. ET, immediately after Alabama beat Missouri, 39-10, in an SEC game that averaged 3,758,000 viewers.
