Football action, led by the College Football Playoff, dominates the schedule of live sports events on TV over the New Year’s holiday weekend.

ESPN on New Year’s Day will air the College Football Playoff semifinal games, including top-ranked Michigan facing No. 4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl and second-ranked Washington battling No. 3 Texas in the Sugar Bowl. Also on January 1, ESPN will televise the Fiesta Bowl between No. 23 Liberty and No. 8 Oregon. 

On Saturday, ESPN will televise the Cotton Bowl (No. 9 Missouri-No. 7 Ohio State), the Peach Bowl (No. 11 Ole Miss-No. 10 Penn State), and the Orange Bowl (No. 6 Georgia-No. 5 Florida State). 

Week 17 of the NFL schedule will feature a Saturday ABC and ESPN simulcast of the Dallas Cowboys-Detroit Lions game. On Sunday afternoon, CBS and Fox will televise regional NFL game coverage, while NBC’s Sunday Night Football matchup will feature the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings. 

On the basketball court, top-ranked college basketball schools in action on Saturday include second-ranked Kansas against Wichita State on ESPN2 and third-ranked Houston against Pennsylvania on ESPN Plus. On Sunday, fourth-ranked Arizona faces Stanford. On the women’s side, Saturday’s schedule features top-ranked South Carolina meeting East Carolina on ESPN2, second-ranked UCLA playing sixth-ranked USC on the Pac12 Network, fourth-ranked Iowa meeting Minnesota on BTN, and fifth-ranked Texas battling No.10 Baylor on Fox. On Sunday, third-ranked NC State faces Virginia on ACCN. 

On the soccer field, USA Network, Peacock and NBC will combine to feature nine live Premier League games over the three-day holiday weekend.

Viewers feasted on live sports programming during the Thanksgiving week, with pro and college football games generating huge viewership numbers.

NFL football games led the ratings onslaught, generating the three most-watched games of the year led by CBS's Thanksgiving day Washington Commanders-Dallas Cowboys game, which drew 41.76 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings published by SportsMedia Watch. The telecast was the second most-watched NFL regular-season game on record behind only last Thanksgiving’s Giants-Cowboys game, which drew 42 million viewers.

Fox's November 23 Green Bay Packers-Detroit Lions game drew 33 million viewers, while NBC’s San Francisco 49’ers-Seattle Seahawks Thanksgiving evening game drew 24.78 million viewers.

CBS’s November 26 late Sunday afternoon NFL window – mostly featuring the Buffalo Bills-Philadelphia Eagles matchup -- drew 30.90 million viewers for fourth place on the chart. Also, the November 20 Philadelphia Eagles-Kansas City Chiefs Monday Night Football telecast averaged more than 29 million combined viewers across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Plus, and ESPN Deportes – the biggest Monday Night Football audience for the Walt Disney Company since 1996, according to ESPN. 

On the college football front, Fox’s November 25 Ohio State-Michigan game drew a season-high 19 million viewers and finished as the most-watched regular season college football game in 12 years. 

The biggest non-football audience was Fox’s Thanksgiving day college basketball game between Michigan State and Arizona, which drew 5.18 million viewers, the largest regular-season college football audience in 15 years, according to SportsMedia Watch. 

Sports content production company Coaches Plus Media is celebrating its first anniversary by looking to expand its portfolio of coach-themed documentaries to include live sports programming as it continues to establish itself on the sports television landscape. 

The company, a collaboration between the nearly 5,000-member National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), the 3,500-member Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and production company TeamWorks Media, hit the sports documentary court running in April 2022 by producing documentaries profiling legendary college basketball coaches. The docs — Think.See.Do. – The Legacy of Pete Carril, which focused on the legendary Princeton coach, and Dear Coach Stringer, which profiled former Rutgers and Iowa women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer — found a home on CBS during last month’s coverage of men's March Madness.

A third documentary, Back to School with Gus Johnson, aired on Fox this past February and followed the veteran Fox Sports announcer’s return to school for a fellowship program at Harvard University. 

“We set out to develop projects about coaches because there’s nobody telling positive coaches stories,” Coaches Plus Media CEO and NABC executive director Craig Robinson told Multichannel News. “What we found is the stories about coaches are either about something bad that happened to a kid, a guy making too much money or getting fired from a job before his contract is up. Yet there are so many positive stories to tell about coaches.”

Coaches Plus Media president Jay Sharman said the company’s ability to bring both the NABC and the WBCA to the table gave the company credibility with distributors. “These are the guys that were going to deliver unique perspectives from a coaches point of view, so it made our ability to develop and distribute the documentaries easier,” Sharman said. “To have three documentaries on the air nationally in year one is unheard of, but it’s been fun to actually see the reality most mirror what we had planned to do.”

The company will look to double its sports documentary output — including an expansion beyond profiles of college basketball coaches — in its second year as it looks to take advantage of distributor interest in sports content, according to Sharman. Later this year, the company plans to launch a women’s sports initiative that will feature content featuring athletes, coaches and institutions.

Robinson said Coaches Plus is also looking at developing a package of live college basketball games produced within the NABC and the WBCA. “The coaches determine who they play in the non-conference games, so what we’re doing is we’re getting our members to allow us a game or two a year to be able to put in a package that we can go out to market and sell,” Robinson said. ”You marry that up with the shoulder programming that we can produce, and it makes for a bigger opportunity for Coaches Plus.”

Added Sharman: “If you look at the top 100 broadcasts in the U.S. over 90% of them are live sports so there’s audience interest in sports content. Add to that the success of sports documentary shows like [Netflix’s Formula One-based] Drive to Survive series that are having a profound impact on sports, and there’s a lot of interest in the marketplace.”

The March Madness college basketball tournament enters its elite-eight round this weekend as part of the busy lineup of live sports events airing on broadcast and cable networks.

The NCAA Men’s college basketball tournament action begins Saturday on TBS with Fla. Atlantic facing Kansas State and UConn battling Gonzaga. Sunday’s action will pit the winners of Friday night’s San Diego State-Alabama and Princeton-Creighton  games in one elite eight matchup, and the winners of the Miami-Houston and Xavier-Texas games in the other contest.

In other sports, Showtime on Saturday will offer a pay-per-view boxing fight card featuring the super middleweight bout between David Benavidez and Caleb Plant. In the octagon, ESPN will air a Saturday afternoon UFC Fight Night card featuring a main event bout between bantamweights Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen. 

On the racetrack, Fox on Sunday will televise the NASCAR Cup EchoPark Grand Prix auto racing event. On the ice, ABC on Saturday will televise live the Washington Capitals-Pittsburgh Penguins NHL game.

On the football field, the XFL enters week six with three games, including ABC’s Saturday Seattle Sea Dragons-Orlando Guardians and Sunday San Antonio Brahmas-Arlington Renegades telecasts, as well as FX’s Saturday St. Louis Battlehawks-Vegas Vipers game. 

The National Women’s Soccer League kicks off its 2023 season Saturday on CBSSN, which will air the Chicago Red Stars-San Diego Wave FC. ■ 

The National Football League Divisional Playoffs lead a busy weekend of live TV sports action.

NFL playoffs action kicks off Saturday with the AFC Divisional Playoff game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Kansas City Chiefs on NBC, followed by a NFC Divisional Playoffs primetime matchup between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles on Fox.

Sunday’s action begins with CBS’s coverage of the Cincinnati Bengals-Buffalo Bills AFC playoffs game followed by Fox's coverage of the Dallas Cowboys-San Francisco 49’ers NFC playoffs contest.

In the octagon, ESPN Plus will offer via pay-per-view the UFC 283 fight card featuring a main event bout between Glover Teixeira and Jamahal Hill for the UFC light heavyweight championship. 

In men's college hoops, second-ranked Kansas plays 14th-ranked TCU on CBS, while fourth-ranked Alabama travels to play Missouri on the SEC Network and fifth-ranked UCLA battles 11th-ranked Arizona on ABC. Other games include No. 7 Texas-West Virginia (ESPN), No. 8 Xavier-Georgetown (FS1), No. 9 Tennessee-LSU (ESPN) and No. 10 Virginia-Wake Forest (ESPNU).

On Sunday, college basketball games include top-ranked Houston taking on Temple on ESPN and third-ranked Purdue facing Maryland on FS1.

On the soccer field, NBC, USA Network and Peacock will combine to offer nine live Premier League game telecasts throughout the weekend. ■ 

The list of live TV sports events airing during the first full weekend of January starts on the football field with the NFL’s final week of the 2022-23 regular season.

Week 18 of the NFL season kicks off Saturday with two games with playoff implications airing on both ABC and ESPN: the Kansas City Chiefs facing the Las Vegas Raiders and the Tennessee Titans battling the Jacksonville Jaguars.

On Sunday CBS and Fox will offer regional game coverage, with NBC airing its final Sunday Night Football telecast of the regular season featuring a matchup between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers.

On the links, NBC will air the final rounds of the PGA Tournament of Champions on Saturday and Sunday, while also airing the high school football All-American Bowl on Saturday.

This weekend’s men’s college basketball schedule includes Sunday games featuring top-ranked Purdue facing Penn State on the Big Ten Network and second-ranked Houston traveling to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats on ESPN.

Saturday’s hoops action features third-ranked Kansas against West Virginia on the Big Ten Network, fourth-ranked UConn battling Creighton on Fox, and fifth-ranked Arizona taking on Washington State on ESPN Plus. Other games include No. 6 Texas-Oklahoma State (Fox), No.7 Alabama-Kentucky (ESPN), and No. 8 Tennessee-South Carolina (SEC Network).

In the ring, Showtime on Saturday will distribute the first pay-per-view boxing event of 2023 when lightweight champion Gervonta Davis steps into the ring to face challenger Hector Luis Garcia.■ 

ESPN and CBS Sports have reached long-term distribution deals with Conference USA, which features a mid-week schedule for the college conference's October football games beginning in 2023.

The deal calls for CBS Sports Network to air 18 of C-USA's college football and college basketball games annually, along with televising the conference’s football, men’s college basketball semifinal and championship games, the women’s basketball championship game as well as baseball and softball championship games.

“Conference USA has been a key partner for nearly two decades and we are pleased to extend our longstanding relationship,” CBS Sports Executive VP of Programming Dan Weinberg said in a statement. “As the primary television home of Conference USA, we are exc ited to showcase the conference’s best across sports throughout the year. This new deal adds even more live games and events to our CBS Sports Network lineup and we look forward to crowning champions in football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and softball for years to come.”

ESPN linear networks will carry eight football games per season, as well as a minimum of five regular season men’s basketball games and one regular season women’s basketball game. Streaming service ESPN Plus will stream over 450 live conference sporting events, including all additional regular season football games and the conference’s USA Olympic sports events, said officials.

“ESPN is thrilled to continue its association with Conference USA and improve its selections to offer better and more games than ever before,” ESPN VP of Programming and Acquisitions Nick Dawson said. “Our combination of industry-leading linear networks and digital platforms will feature hundreds of events across multiple sports each year, providing C-USA, its member institutions, student athletes and fans unmatched simplicity and access to their favorite C-USA teams and games.”

Also: Big 12 Conference Seals Stabilizing $2.28 Billion TV Rights Extension with ESPN and Fox

To create higher visibility for its college football games, the nine-team conference will offer its October games during the week, with CBS, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU sharing the weeknight schedule, according to the conference.

“This is a major step forward for Conference USA in terms of our multimedia rights as it relates to streamlined exposure, accessibility for our fans and greater financial resources for our members,” C-USA Commissioner Judy MacLeod said in a statement. “Building on our strong relationships with CBS and ESPN enabled us to provide increased exposure and consistent broadcast homes for our membership and fans as we continue to see the landscape of Conference USA and college athletics evolve.” ■

The pay-per-view industry will help kick off the upcoming college basketball season with an October 28 charity game between top-ranked teams Gonzaga and Tennessee.

PPV content aggregator In Demand and its digital service PPV.com will exclusively distribute the inaugural Legends of Basketball Classic exhibition game pitting the No. 2 Bulldogs against the No. 11 Volunteers in a charity event, with the proceeds benefiting the McLendon Foundation, according to the company. The event will retail at a suggested PPV price of $9.99.

While the PPV event category has historically featured ring sports including boxing, mixed martial arts and pro wrestling, In Demand senior VP of programming and marketing Mark Boccardi said the college basketball game helps expand the breadth of programming offered via the PPV platform.

"This is a tremendous tip-off to the unofficial start of this year's college basketball season," Boccardi said. "Having this game on PPV gives fans a unique opportunity to see a fantastic pre-season exhibition game between two of the highest-ranked teams in college basketball. It’s got a March Madness feel and we’re only in October."

Basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla will serve as play-by-play announcer for the game along with Gonzaga college basketball broadcaster Tom Hudson and Tennessee alum and college basketball analyst Dane Bradshaw. Fans purchasing the event on PPV.com will be able to participate in an interactive live chat during the game with reporter Andy Katz, said the company.

“We’re really excited for a new fan base of college basketball fans to watch on our platform,” Boccardi added.

Also on PPV this weekend is Showtime’s October 29 boxing card headlined by a bout between YouTube star Jake Paul and former UFC mixed martial arts champion Anderson Silva. ■

In a major college sports TV development, the Big Ten Conference has reached seven-year distribution deals with Fox, CBS and NBC for rights to the conference’s marquee football and basketball games.

The agreement, which goes into effect in 2023 and will pay the conference a reported $1 billion a year, is modeled after the NFL, which offers live games across multiple networks and platforms. As part of the deal, Fox, CBS and NBC will all air Big Ten football games on Saturdays beginning in the fall of 2023. 

The three networks will also split the Big Ten Football Championship game telecasts, with CBS airing the game in 2024 and 2028, Fox in 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029 and NBC in 2026, according to the Big Ten. Fox and ESPN currently hold Big Ten rights deals.

“The new rights agreements are an incredible achievement for our entire conference and a true testament of what can be accomplished with teamwork,” Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren said in a statement.

The deal puts the Big Ten at the forefront of the college sports television landscape. The 14-team conference, which includes high-profile schools Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan, will add Pac-12 schools USC and UCLA to its lineup in 2024. 

TV sports analyst Lee Berke said the Big Ten deal is a huge deal for the conference and the TV sports category. “College football content stirs the TV sports drink and [the Big Ten] offers a lot of it,” he said. “With the additions of USC and UCLA, they will offer more of it in major markets with major audience appeal, particularly during the fourth quarter of the year. That’s a tremendous amount of content that every major network wants to go after, and you’re seeing that with the players involved in this deal."

As part of the agreement, Fox will continue to televise football and men’s basketball games, while the Fox Sports-owned Big Ten Network will continue to televise the conferences' football, basketball, and Olympic sports competition.

"We are proud to expand upon our long-standing partnership with the Big Ten Conference and further bolster our position as the premier rights holder of  the conference," Fox Sports CEO and executive producer Eric Shanks said. 

CBS will offer seven Big Ten football games in 2023, which will ramp up to 15 games beginning in 2024, including an annual Black Friday game in the afternoon. CBS will continue to air Big Ten regular-season and postseason men’s and women’s basketball games, including the Big Ten Men’s semifinals and final games, as well as, for the first time, the women’s basketball tournament final. Paramount Plus will stream the CBS Big Ten basketball and football games.

“The Big Ten has been a valued partner for more than three decades, as we're thrilled to expand that relationship by adding Big Ten football to our portfolio of marquee properties," CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said. 

NBC and its streaming service Peacock will air 14 to 16 college football games as well as up to 47 regular season men’s college basketball games and 30 women’s basketball games. 

"We a re incredibly excited to be partnering with Kevin Warren and the Big Ten Conference on this robust package of sports," said NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua. ■

TBS rode its March Madness basketball tournament coverage to a first place finish on last week’s cable primetime ratings chart, according to Nielsen.

TBS, which air live games from rounds three and four of the men’s college basketball tournament, averaged 2.9 million viewers in primetime for the week of March 21 to March 27, stopping Fox News’ nine-week winning streak in the category. The cable news network finished second with 2.9 million viewers, followed by MSNBC and HGTV, which tied with 1.1 million viewers. 

CNN finished fifth with 889,000 viewers, followed by ESPN (862,000 viewers), TLC (840,000), INSP (774,000), Discovery Channel (768,000) and History (748,000), said Nielsen.  

Fox News held off TBS on a total day basis to remain undefeated in 2022. MSNBC, CNN and HGTV rounded out the top five most watched networks in the category, reported Nielsen. ■  

The lineup of TV sports events for the first weekend of March starts on the college basketball court as several conference tournaments kick off leading up to the March Madness tournament.

Tournaments from conferences such as the Big South, Sun Belt, Southern Conference, Big South, Missouri Valley, CAA, Atlantic Sun, Northeast, Missouri Valley, Summit League, Ohio Valley, Patriot League and West Coast will take place on Saturday and Sunday to determine which teams will qualify for automatic bids to the Big Dance.

Saturday games featuring top-ranked teams in action on TV include third-ranked Baylor-Iowa State (ESPN2), fourth-ranked Duke-North Carolina (ESPN), fifth-ranked Auburn-South Carolina (SEC Network), sixth-ranked Kansas-Texas (ESPN) seventh-ranked Kentucky-Florida (CBS), and eight-ranked Purdue-Indiana (ESPN). On Sunday, tenth-ranked Wisconsin battles Nebraska on the Big Ten Network.  

On Sunday, several conference finals in women’s college basketball will take place, including the ACC final (ESPN), the Atlantic 10, Big Ten and SEC finals (ESPN2).

On the NBA front, ABC on Saturday will air a primetime matchup between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers. On Sunday afternoon, the network will air an NBA doubleheader lineup featuring the Brooklyn Nets against the Boston Celtics, and the Phoenix Suns battling the Milwaukee Bucks. Two more NBA games will air on ESPN Sunday night, including the Toronto Raptors-Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks-LA. Clippers.

ABC will also air a Saturday afternoon Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers NHL telecast, while on Sunday TNT will air the afternoon Dallas Stars-Minnesota Wild contest.

On the links, NBC and the Golf Channel will offer final round weekend coverage of the PGA Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament, while FS1 will take to the lanes to televise the Pro Bowlers Association's Roth/Holman Doubles tournament. 

NBC and USA Network will offer weekend coverage of the Paralympics from China.

On the soccer field, NBC on Saturday will air the West Ham-Liverpool Premier League contest, while USA Network on Saturday and Sunday will offer live Premier League doubleheader action. On Sunday, ESPN and FS1 will air live MLS games.  

FS1 on Saturday will air the Xfinity Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas auto race.

In the octagon, ESPN PPV will distribute the UFC 272 fight card featuring a main event bout between welterweights Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal. 

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of Feb. 21-27, showcasing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks 

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 19 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

With the calendar turning to March, interest in men‘s college basketball is heating up in advance of the NCAA tournament. From February 21-27, games scored 2.12% of total TV minutes watched — No. 1 for the week, and nearly double the watch-time of the next most-watched programming.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• The National Basketball Association only aired games from Thursday through Sunday, yet still netted 1.14% of minutes watched for the week.
• Fox News Channel coverage surges, with seven of the top 25 most-watched shows, including Fox News Live, which soars from outside the top 50 to No. 15 overall.
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit leaps from No. 42 to No. 5 week-over-week, with 0.85% of minutes watched.
• Paw Patrol jumps to No. 14 after not appearing in the top 50 the previous week, via marathon viewing on Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.

Fox News hops to No. 1 among networks in terms of total watch-time, courtesy of Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) coverage and commentary around Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The network grew week-over-week minutes watched on TV from 5.24% to 7.39%.

More insights around the most-watched networks from Feb. 21-27:

• With audiences locked on Russia and Ukraine news, other cable news networks also show week-over-week increases, with CNN climbing from No. 15 to No. 5 and MSNBC moving from No. 19 to No. 11 by minutes watched.
• In part thanks to Paw Patrol, Nickelodeon moves from No. 20 to No. 17 in week-over-week watch-time.
• HGTV builds up to No. 9 by minutes watched, after sitting at No. 11 the previous week.
• The CW’s watch-time moves from No. 24 to No. 22 in our rankings, boosted by viewers tuning into All-American’s return and the debut of All-American: Homecoming.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

Basketball’s watch-time advantage also corresponds to a TV ad impressions lead from Feb. 21-27. Men’s college hoops accounts for over 4% of impressions to top all programming during the week, while NBA games delivered nearly 2.5%.

More data about the top programs by TV ad impressions during the week:

• The men’s Dubai Tennis Championships, women’s Monterrey Open and player responses to the Russia-Ukraine conflict helped drive Tennis Channel’s Center Court to No. 16 by TV ad impressions on the week.
• American Idol’s season 20 premiere helped float the show to No. 25 by impressions (0.72% of everything served on TV).
• News-focused programs make up the majority of the top programs by impressions from Feb. 21-27, with 14 of the top 25 — and 16 including sports-news programs SportsCenter and Center Court.
• Daytime soap operas claim three spots among the top 25, led by The Young and the Restless at No. 8 (with 1.1% of impressions).

CBS skips to the No. 1 spot in our ad-impressions-by-network ranking from February 21-27, in part due to men’s college basketball triple-headers on both Saturday and Sunday.

Additional insights around the top networks by impressions from the week:

• Cable news claims three of the top seven spots in our rankings, with Fox News grabbing 10.5% of impressions, followed by CNN (8.6%) and MSNBC (4.9%).
• Live sports also delivered a large portion of impressions, as 12 of the top 25 networks aired at least some sort of sporting event during the week.
• Related: ESPN2 impressions climbed by 15% week-over-week as a result of more impressions delivered by men’s college basketball games (despite fewer minutes of advertising).
• Top networks delivered a larger share of impressions, with the top eight networks by impressions accounting for nearly 71% of impressions from Feb. 21-27, versus 65% the previous week.

The TV sports lineup for the weekend leading into the President’s Day holiday starts on the basketball court with the 2022 NBA All-Star Game from Cleveland. 

On Saturday TNT will provide live coverage of the All-Star Skills Challenge, which features the 3-point contest and the Slam Dunk Contest. On Sunday TNT and TBS will offer alternative live feeds of the All-Star Game.

NBC Sports will wrap up its Winter Olympics coverage on Saturday with coverage of the finals in figure skating, ice hockey, speed skating and women’s curling across networks USA, CNBC and NBC. On Sunday NBC will air the closing ceremonies live at 7 am (ET) and repeat in primetime.  The full schedule of Olympics events can be found here.

In other sports, FS1 hits the auto racing circuit Saturday with live coverage of the ARCA Menards Series Lucas Oil 200 race and the Xfinity: Beef. It’s What’s For dinner 300 race.

On the greens, CBS and Golf Channel will provide weekend coverage of the PGA’s Genesis Invitational golf tournament. On the soccer field, USA, NBC and Peacock will offer live Premier League game coverage on Saturday, while USA will offer a Premier League doubleheader on Sunday.

Fox on Sunday will rev up coverage of the NASCAR’s Daytona 500 race, while CBS saddles up to telecast the Professional Bull Riders’ Ticketmaster Invitational championship round. 

ESPN Plus will offer a live Saturday night boxing card headlined by a welterweight matchup between former champions Amir Khan and Kell Brook. The streaming service will also telecast live a UFC Fight Night card featuring a light heavyweight tilt between Johnny Walker and Jamahal Hill.

Top-10 college basketball teams in action on national TV nets Saturday include second-ranked Auburn against Florida on ESPN, third-ranked Arizona facing Oregon on ESPN, and fourth-ranked Kentucky battling No. 25 Alabama on CBS. Also on tap are No. 6 Kansas-West Virginia (ESPN), No. 7 Baylor-TCU (ESPN 2), No. 9 Duke-Florida State (ESPN) and No. 10 Villanova-Georgetown (Fox). Sunday’s lineup includes No. 5 Purdue-Rutgers (FS1) and No. 8 Providence-Butler (FS1).

This weekend’s lineup of TV sports events begins at arguably the biggest sporting event of the year, Super Bowl LVI. NBC’s telecast of Sunday’s NFL Championship matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams is expected to be the most watched television event of 2022.

Following the Super Bowl, NBC will air live coverage of the 2022 Winter Olympics, part of the NBC Sports’ weekend-long coverage of the games across such networks as USA Network and CNBC. The full schedule of Olympics events can be found here.

In other weekend sports action, ABC will continue its Saturday night primetime NBA telecasts with live coverage of the Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State Warriors game. The network on Sunday afternoon will televise the Atlanta Hawks-Boston Celtics contest. 

On the soccer field, NBC and Peacock will offer Saturday morning Premier League coverage, while FS2 on Saturday begins Club World Cup coverage. On the links, CBS and the Golf Channel will offer weekend coverage of the PGA Phoenix Open golf tournament. 

ESPN Plus will distribute the UFC 271 pay-per-view mixed martial arts event featuring a main event rematch between middleweights Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker. In the squared ring, DAZN will carry live the Daniel Jacobs-John Ryder super middleweight boxing match.

Saturday’s college basketball schedule features top-ranked Auburn battles Texas A&M on ESPN, second-ranked Gonzaga takes on No. 22 Saint Mary’s on ESPN2, and fourth-ranked Arizona travels to play Washington on Pac 12 Network. Other games include No. 5 Kentucky-Florida (ESPN) No. 6 Houston-Memphis (ABC), No. 7 Duke-Boston College (ACC Network), No. 8 Kansas-Oklahoma (CBS), No. 9 Texas Tech-TCU (Big 12 Network) and No. 10 Baylor-No. 20 Texas (ESPN2). On Sunday, third-ranked Purdue faces Maryland on CBS.

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of January 31-February 6, showcasing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 19 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

The 2022 Winter Olympics leapt out to a quick watch-time lead during the early days of events and the Opening Ceremony. Olympics programming across multiple NBCUniversal networks was No. 1 from January 31-February 6, with 4.63% of watch-time on the week.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• The Pebble Beach Pro-Am helped shoot PGA Tour golf from No. 11 to No. 8 by minutes watched week-over-week.
• Old (1955-75) Western procedural Gunsmoke moves up from No. 17 to No. 12 week-over-week.
• Benefiting from the increased eyeballs on NBC programming with the Olympics, NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt makes a jump from No. 24 to No. 20 by watch-time.
• Network morning news shows all make upward watch-time moves on the week, with Good Morning America moving from No. 5 to No. 4, Today shifting from No. 8 to No. 7, and CBS Mornings migrating from No. 16 to No. 14.

NBC spins to the top spot by network watch-time, with 7.58% of all minutes watched on the week — an impressive number partially due to the start of the Olympics.

More insights around the most-watched networks from January 31-February 6:

• Speaking of the Olympics, USA Network soars to the top 10 by watch-time given its own airing of the Games, moving from No. 16 to No. 7 week-over-week.
• IFC vaults from No. 22 to No. 16 week-over-week, thanks in part to syndicated comedies Two and a Half Men and Everybody Loves Raymond.
• The return of The Real Housewives of New Jersey for its 12th season helped power Bravo’s rise from No. 27 to No. 23 by minutes watched.
• Fox leaps back into the top four networks by watch-time, over sister network Fox News.

Also: Fox Is Selling 2023 Super Bowl Spots as Sports Ad Market Heats Up

With no NFL games scheduled for this weekend, NBC’s coverage of the 2022 Winter Olympics highlights this weekend’s top TV sports events. 

USA Network, CNBC, NBC and Peacock will feature live weekend coverage of the Olympics from Beijing. Events to be featured include men’s and women’s speed skating, women’s ice hockey, team figure skating, freestyle skiing and curling. The full schedule of Olympics events can be found here.

In other sports, ABC will continue its Saturday primetime NBA telecasts with coverage of the New York Knicks-Los Angeles Lakers contest. On the ice, ABC on Saturday will air the NHL All-star Game.

In the squared ring, Fox Sports will distribute a pay-per-view boxing card featuring a main event fight between welterweights Keith Thurman and Mario Barrios. 

Also, NBC Sports will provide weekend coverage of the Guinness Six Nations Rugby Championship on CNBC and streaming service Peacock. 

On the college basketball court Saturday, top-seeded Auburn faces Georgia on the SEC Network, second-ranked Gonzaga plays BYU on ESPN, and third-ranked UCLA battles Arizona State on ESPN2. Other games include fifth-ranked Kentucky-Alabama (ESPN),  seventh-ranked Arizona-No. 19 USC (Fox), eighth-ranked Baylor-No. 10 Kansas (ESPN), and ninth-ranked Duke-North Carolina (ESPN). On Sunday, sixth-ranked Houston will battle Cincinnati on ESPN2.■ 

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of January 24-30, showcasing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 19 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

NFL conference championship games over the weekend continued a theme of tightly contested matchups during the 2022 playoffs. The thrilling finishes are part of yet another NFL win around viewer attention, as the league netted 4.32% of watch-time from January 24-30.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

CBS rode an afternoon AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals to a network watch-time win, with 10.05% of all minutes watched on the week.

More insights around the most-watched networks from January 24-30:

Also: Fox Is Selling 2023 Super Bowl Spots as Sports Ad Market Heats Up

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

Live audiences flocked to the NFL’s conference championship games over the weekend, delivering more TV ad impressions than any other programming from January 24-30 (despite just two games airing). The league’s 6.23 billion impressions are No. 1 for the week, making up over 11.8% of the total on TV.

More data about the top programs by TV ad impressions during the week:

CBS accounts for over 20% of TV ad impressions on the week to maintain the No. 1 spot in our ad-impressions-by-network ranking for January 24-30.

Additional insights around the top networks by impressions from the week:

The list of marquee TV sports events for the last weekend in January starts with the NFL Conference Championships.

On Sunday afternoon, CBS will televise the AFC Championship game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs, while later that evening Fox’s NFL Championship telecast will feature the San Francisco 49’ers and Los Angeles Rams. The winner of each game will meet in Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles on February 6, which will air live on NBC.

On the mixed martial arts front, Showtime on Saturday will televise live the Bellator 273 fight card featuring a main event heavyweight championship fight between Ryan Bader and Valentin Moldavsky.

ABC on Saturday will air a live primetime NBA game between the Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors, while the NHL Network on Sunday will telecast the Seattle Kraken-New York Rangers hockey contest. 

ESPN on Saturday and Sunday morning will hit the tennis court for live coverage of the Australian Open women's and men's finals, respectively,  while on the auto racing track USA and NBC will offer weekend coverage of the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship. On Saturday, FS1 will offer live coverage of the Professional Bowlers Tour’s Players Championship Finals. 

The weekend college basketball lineup features several top ten-ranked teams playing on Saturday, including No. 1 Auburn hosting Oklahoma on ESPN and No. 3 Arizona against Arizona State on CBS. ESPN will also televise fourth-ranked Baylor against Alabama and fifth-ranked Kansas versus 12th-ranked Kentucky. ESPN2 will air seventh-ranked Houston’s game against UCF. On Sunday, CBS carries No. 6 Purdue against No. 16 Ohio State.

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of January 17-23, showcasing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 19 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

With all four divisional round games decided in the final seconds over the weekend, the NFL Playoffs keep a comfortable lead for TV viewer attention, with 11.41% of watch-time from January 17-23.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

Despite airing “just” one NFL Playoff game during the weekend (Los Angeles Rams vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers), NBC still finds itself atop our most-watched ranking for the week, with 8.68% of watch-time.

More insights around the most-watched networks from January 17-23:

Also: Fox Is Selling 2023 Super Bowl Spots as Sports Ad Market Heats Up

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

NFL Playoff games make for big live audiences and resulting TV ad impressions, as was the case yet again from January 17-23. Between the Monday night Wild Card game and four divisional round matchups over the weekend, the five games delivered 21.9% of all impressions during the timeframe.

More data about the top programs by TV ad impressions during the week:

With the help of two thrilling NFL playoff games on the week, CBS won over 23% of TV ad impressions to take the No. 1 spot in our ad-impressions-by-network ranking for January 17-23. 

Additional insights around the top networks by impressions from the week:

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This weekend’s sports action on TV begins on the football field with the 18th and final week of the National Football League season. ABC and ESPN will simulcast a Saturday NFL doubleheader beginning with the Kansas City Chiefs-Denver Broncos game, followed by the Dallas Cowboys-Philadelphia Eagles contest.

Also: ESPN To Close Out NFL Season with New Saturday Doubleheader

On Sunday, NBC will broadcast the NFL’s final regular season game featuring the Los Angeles Chargers and the Las Vegas Raiders.

In other sports action, NBC will air weekend coverage of the U.S. Championships in figure skating as the network gears up for next month’s Winter Olympics coverage. NBC along with the Golf Channel will also offer weekend coverage of the PGA Tournament of Champions golf tournament.  

In the Octagon, ESPN will televise a Saturday afternoon UFC Fight Night mixed martial arts fight card featuring a main event bout between featherweights Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze.

Top 10-ranked college basketball teams playing on television on Saturday include top-ranked Baylor at TCU (Big 12 Network), third-ranked Purdue against Penn State, fifth-ranked UCLA and California (Pac12 Network), sixth-ranked Kansas versus Texas Tech (ESPN2), and 10th-ranked Michigan State at Michigan (Fox). ■

The TV sports listings for the weekend before Christmas starts on the football field as NFL Network televises a Saturday evening game with playoff implications as the New England Patriots face off against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Las Vegas Raiders-Cleveland Browns game scheduled for Saturday has been moved to Monday due to a significant amount of COVID-19 infections among Browns players, according to the NFL. An increase in COVID-19 infections among league players has also forced the move of Sunday's The Washington Football Team-Philadelphia Eagles game and the Seattle Seahawks-Los Angeles Rams contest to Tuesday, according to the league.

On Sunday night, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the New Orleans Saints in NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast. 

College football bowl season begins in earnest this weekend as the first of more than 40 bowl games launch on Saturday. ESPN will televise the Boca Raton Bowl (Western Kentucky-Appalachian St.),  New Mexico Bowl (UTEP-Fresno State), Lending Tree Bowl (E. Michigan-Liberty) and New Orleans Bowl (Louisiana-Marshall.) ABC will air the Independence Bowl (UAB-BYU) and LA Bowl (Utah State-Oregon St.)

Several NCAA top ten-rated college basketball teams will also be in action this week. On Saturday top-ranked Baylor travels to play Oregon on ESPN2, while third-ranked Purdue will face Butler on Fox. Fifth-ranked Gonzaga will take on 25th-ranked Texas Tech on CBS and sixth-ranked Alabama meets JSU on the SEC Network. 

In the ring, Showtime will distribute a pay-per-view boxing match between YouTube star Jake Paul and former MMA fighter Tyron Woodley. The fight is a rematch of their August 2021 PPV fight won by Paul via a split decision.  

The focus on live TV sports events this weekend starts on the basketball court as several top 10-ranked college basketball teams are in action.

On Saturday Fox will air the game between the NCAA’s fourth-ranked team UCLA and Marquette, while ESPN will televise the game between eighth-ranked Kansas and Missouri as well as the contest between 10th-ranked Kentucky and Notre Dame. ESPN2 will carry No. 9 Alabama’s game against No. 14 Houston. 

On Sunday, second-ranked Baylor takes on sixth-ranked Villanova on ABC, while top-ranked Purdue will look to rebound after an upset loss to Rutgers in its game against NC State, which airs on the Big Ten Network. 

In the NBA, ABC on Saturday will televise the Golden State Warriors-Philadelphia 76’ers contest.  

In the combat sports arena, ESPN Plus on Saturday will distribute the UFC 269 pay-per-view fight card featuring the main event fight between lightweights Charles Oliveira and Dustin Poirier. 

On the boxing front, ESPN will televise the Vasiliy Lomachenko-Richard Commey lightweight fight, while Showtime will televise the Nontio Donaire-Reymart Gaballo bantamweight title match. 

On the gridiron, CBS will air the annual Army-Navy college football game on Saturday. On Sunday, NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast will feature an NFC Central battle between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. 

NBC and the Golf Channel will air weekend final round coverage of the PGA QBE Shootout golf tournament. NBC, USA and NBCSN will continue its weekend coverage of live Premier League soccer games, while ABC airs a Saturday afternoon MLS game between NYCFC and Portland. 

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of Nov. 22-28, showcasing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

The Thanksgiving spotlight on National Football League action drove minutes watched up to 8.64% during the week of Nov. 22-28, an increase from 5.99% the previous week. 

Beyond the NFL’s notable bump, some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• NBC’s telecast of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade captured 0.99% of total TV watch-time for the week (fourth place in our ranking) as the event returned with in-person spectators after a year away due to the pandemic.
• Boosted by three days of games (Thursday through Saturday), college football vaults to second place with 5.35% of minutes watched in its final full week of the season, up from 3.57% of watch-time the previous week.
• Paramount Network’s Yellowstone climbs to No. 5 after not appearing among the 50 most-watched programs from Nov. 15-21.
• College basketball’s early-season tournaments drove the sport all the way up to No. 3 by watch-time on the week, with 1.14% of minutes watched.

Also: Holiday 2021 TV Premiere Dates

Fox maintains its place atop the list of most-watched networks on the week, with 8.41% of watch-time, buoyed in part by the NFL’s early Thanksgiving game between the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions (won by a last-second field goal by the Bears).

More insights around the most-watched networks from Nov. 22-28:

• While Fox remains the most-watched TV network, the rest of the big four broadcast networks reshuffle, with CBS moving from No. 3 to No. 2, NBC shifting from No. 4 to No. 3, and ABC migrating from No. 2 to No. 4 week-over-week.
• Fueled by Yellowstone, Paramount Network rockets up from No. 19 to No. 8 by minutes watched, with 1.70% from Nov. 22-28.
• Lifetime (from No. 29 to No. 20) and Freeform (from No. 27 to No. 24) are the lone week-over-week newcomers in our most-watched network rankings.
• TBS jumps from No. 17 to No. 13 by watch-time on the strength of The Match between golfers Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau… and airings of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.
  

Also: Fox Is Selling 2023 Super Bowl Spots as Sports Ad Market Heats Up

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

The NFL hoards TV ad impressions once more, with over 10.9 billion from Nov. 22-28 (an increase of about 3 billion compared to the previous week).

More data about the top programs by TV ad impressions during the week:

• Between two separate airings of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (on NBC and CBS), the event delivered more TV ad impressions on the week than all but the NFL and college football.
• NBC’s National Dog Show broadcast served up the 12th-most impressions of any show from Nov. 22-28.
• Hallmark Channel’s An Unexpected Christmas chimes in at No. 24 in our shows-by-ad-impressions ranking.
• Early-season marquee college basketball matchups led to a No. 5 ranking for the sport over the course of the week.

Between the NFL, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the final weekend of the college football season (including a four-overtime Iron Bowl matchup between Alabama and Auburn), CBS once again sits atop the week’s ad-impressions-by-network ranking for Nov. 22-28.

Additional insights around the top networks by impressions from the week:

• The NFL, college football and related coverage of the weekend’s games powered Fox to the No. 2 spot, with over 8.7 billion impressions.
• Hallmark Channel tacked on about a billion impressions week-over-week as audiences continued to lean all the way into the holiday season (following along with the network’s programming).
• With a slew of tentpole events on the big four broadcast networks, ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC combined for over 55% of all ad impressions for new-airing programs from Nov. 22-28.

■

BET Studios has teamed with the Klutch Sports Group to develop its first unscripted series that will follow the lives of several college basketball prospects.

The five-part series, Klutch Academy, will debut on BET Nov. 23 and will follow the Klutch Sports Group as they prepare six college basketball prospects for pro careers. Each one-hour episode will candidly reveal what players and agents experience in the process leading up to the NBA Draft.

The series marks the first original unscripted series for BET Studios, which looks to create premium TV series and films while offering equity ownership for Black content creators. 

Klutch Academy is executive produced by Rich Paul, Fara Leff, Mike Tollin, Jon Weinbach, Kenya Barris, Tiffany Lea Williams, and Mike Gleaton.

“With Kenya Barris, Rich Paul, Mike Tollin and Jon Weinbach all on board for Klutch Academy, we couldn’t have hoped for a better inaugural project for BET Studios,” Aisha Summers Burke, EVP and General Manager of BET Studios said in a statement. “The BET Studios venture is all about giving creators an opportunity to tell stories that have yet to be told, and Klutch Sports has a remarkable background and history that we know will resonate with our audiences, which is why we’re so glad the series found its home right here on BET.”

This is a quick snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of April 5-11, revealing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

The 2021 Masters Tournament took first place, capturing 2.70% of all minutes watched, while the NCAA men’s basketball tournament was in second place (0.94%). MLB baseball and NBA basketball both made the top 10 for watch-time, with 0.89% and 0.79%, respectively. Ranking newcomers for the week included Gunsmoke, which was at No. 19 (0.45% of all minutes watched) and The Price Is Right (No. 22, 0.42%). American Idol remained at No. 25, with a slight increase in watch-time from the previous week (0.40% vs. 0.39%).

Also Read: Just How Much of a Slam Dunk Has March Madness Been on Live TV?

CBS continued to reign supreme on the network ranking, snagging 9% of watch-time, up from 7.51% the previous week, thanks in part to the 2021 Masters Tournament and the NCAA basketball tournament. The Masters also helped boost ESPN and Golf Channel up in the chart: ESPN took sixth place with 2.58% of all minutes watched, while Golf Channel was No. 25 (1.02%). TBS, which had been benefiting from March Madness games over the last few weeks, dropped to No. 14 from ninth place; MSNBC also slipped in the rankings, down to No. 16 from No. 10 the week before.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

Once again, college basketball was No. 1 for TV ad impressions, 930.7 million, a 74.82% week-over-week decrease as March Madness and the NCAA tournament came to a close. NBA basketball took third place with 729.3 million impressions, a 55% increase from the previous week. The 2021 Masters Tournament and Live From the Masters were neck and neck with 636.1 million impressions vs. 625 million, respectively, and MLB baseball made the top 10 with 622 million impressions, a slight 5.6% week-over-week increase.

CBS maintained its first-place position, although its 7.9 billion TV ad impressions constituted a minor week-over-week decrease. Both ABC and NBC had slight upticks in impressions from the week before, generating 5.6 billion and 4.9 billion, respectively, compared to 5.4 billion and 4.7 billion. Golf Channel jumped into 10th place from No. 17, with its 629.8 million impressions fueled almost entirely by Live From the Masters. MLB Network and Fox Sports 1 were close behind, each generating over 621 million TV ad impressions. Headline News took No. 19 with 369.1 million impressions, driven largely by The Death of George Floyd: Derek Chauvin on Trial.

This is a quick snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of March 29 through April 4, revealing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

Unsurprisingly, March Madness games captured the most watch-time for the week, accounting for 2.95% of all live, linear minutes. Meanwhile, MLB baseball, which just kicked off its season, took fourth place with 0.88% of minutes watched, and SportsCenter zoomed up the ranking into No. 7 from No. 22 the previous week. Other shows that had notable week-over-week rankings increases included Law & Order (0.48%, up from No. 30 to No. 17) and SpongeBob SquarePants (0.44% of minutes watched, at No. 19 from No. 26 previously).

On the network ranking, CBS was in first place once again, but saw a week-over-week decrease in the percent of minutes watched, down to 7.51% from 8.27%. NBC moved into second place (7.01%), followed by ABC (6.70%), Fox News (4.02%) and Fox (3.74%). Multiple networks moved up the ranking from the previous week including CNN, ESPN, ION, Investigation Discovery and Food Network, while HGTV, TBS, USA, TNT and Univision dropped positions from the week before.

Also Read: Just How Much of a Slam Dunk Has March Madness Been on Live TV?

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

College basketball continued its domination, racking up 3.7 billion TV ad impressions during the week. American Idol broke into the top five with 659.7 million impressions, beating MLB games, which generated 589 million impressions. The Price Is Right and The Young and the Restless were the only other non-sports or news programs to make the top 10. NBA basketball, which was in fifth place for impressions the previous week, dropped to No. 10 (470.5 million impressions); PGA Tour golf also slipped down the ranking, from No. 2 to No. 14 (427.5 million impressions).

The top of the network ranking was stable week-over-week, led by CBS (8.1 billion TV ad impressions), ABC (5.4 billion) and NBC (4.7 billion). March Madness games accounted for over 34% of the impressions on CBS, while morning news shows were top drivers of impressions for both ABC and NBC (GMA and Today, respectively). MLB Network gained steam from the previous week, rising up to No. 12 with 559.8 million impressions. On the flip side, Golf dropped from No. 12 to No. 17, generating 377.8 million impressions during the period measured. Headline News was a ranking newcomer, with 58% of its 362.2 million impressions coming from The Death of George Floyd: Derek Chauvin on Trial.

This is a quick snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of Mar. 22-28, revealing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

For the second week in a row, March Madness led for watch-time, capturing 4.78% of all minutes watched during the week. PGA Tour golf swung into second place (1.16%), while the NCAA women’s basketball tournament took No. 6 (0.74%) and NBA games were right behind with 0.71% of watch-time. American Idol, which was previously not in the top 50 shows watched, broke into the ranking at No. 16 (0.46%).

CBS maintained its hold on first place for the network ranking (8.27% of minutes watched), with an assist from March Madness games, CBS This Morning and The Price Is Right. Marathons of Ridiculousness helped move MTV into the ranking, up to No. 24 from No. 27 the previous week, while Lifetime benefited from reruns of Rizzoli & Isles, taking No. 23 with 1.10% of the week’s watch-time.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

College basketball was the primary driver of impressions during the week, but its 7 billion was a 24.37% decrease from the previous week. PGA Tour golf and NBA basketball also made the top five shows by impressions, with 906.1 million and 627 million, respectively, while women’s college basketball games came in at No. 7 (568.6 million). The top non-news or sports show by impressions was American Idol (623.9 million); others included The Price Is Right (542.3 million), The Young and the Restless (510.3 million), General Hospital (386.1 million), The Voice (366.8 million), Let’s Make a Deal (328.5 million) and Days of our Lives (326.9 million).

There was no shuffling among the first eight positions of the network ranking week-over-week: CBS led the pack with 9.9 billion impressions, followed by ABC (6 billion) and NBC (4.6 billion). Not only did March Madness deliver half of the total impressions on CBS (4.5 billion), games also accounted for 94.5% of all of the impressions from new programming on TBS, and 41.3% of TNT’s impressions. History Channel had a 54.17% week-over-week increase in impressions, moving from No. 28 the previous week up to No. 17, thanks in part to the Barrett-Jackson Live Auction. Hallmark also saw an increase in impressions, up 14.8% to 310.4 million, fueled by the network’s new original movie Don't Go Breaking My Heart (183.9 million impressions) and a new episode of When Calls the Heart (110 million impressions).

The March Madness college basketball tournament highlights a crowded TV sports weekend schedule.  

The NCAA men’s college basketball tournament continues on Saturday with Sweet 16 round action. CBS will offer coverage of the Villanova vs Baylor and Oregon St-Loyola Chicago games, while TBS will telecast the Oral Roberts-Arkansas and Syracuse-Houston contests. On Sunday, CBS will air the Creighton-Gonzaga and Florida St.-Michigan games, while TBS will telecast UCLA playing Alabama and Oregon facing USC.  

The women’s college basketball tournament also continues Saturday with ABC’s third round coverage of the Iowa-UConn and Michigan-Baylor games as well as ESPN2’s Indiana-N.C. State and Arizona Texas A&M telecasts. On Sunday ABC will carry the Georgia Tech-South Carolina and Missouri St.-Stanford games, while ESPN will telecast the Oregon-Louisville and Texas-Maryland contests. 

ESPN on Sunday will also feature the finals of college basketball’s National Invitation Tournament.  

On the ice, NBC Sunday will offer an afternoon NHL game between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals, while NBCSN airs a hockey tripleheader, led by the Nashville Predators-Chicago Blackhawks primetime telecast. 

Sunday also features  Fox’s telecast of the NASCAR Food City Dirt Race.

On the combat sports front, DAZN Saturday will distribute the Alexander Povetkin-Dillian Whyte heavyweight title fight, while ESPN Plus will distribute the UFC 260 pay-per-view event featuring the Stipe Miocic-Francis Ngannou heavyweight main event. 

The launch of the March Madness men's college basketball tournament couldn't slow down Fox News Channel's ratings fast break for the month as the news network remained undefeated on both a primetime and total day basis, according to Nielsen. 

Fox News averaged 2.2 million viewers in primetime to finish in first place for the week of March 15 to March 21, according to Nielsen. TBS and TNT’s coverage of the tournament -- which returned this year after taking a pandemic-driven hiatus in 2020 -- helped the networks finish in second and fourth place respectively during the week. 

Also Read: CBS' Sean McManus on March Madness: I'm Not Worrying about Ratings Being Down 

MSNBC finished third with 1.7 million viewers, followed by HGTV and CNN, which tied for fifth place with 1.1 million viewers. Hallmark Channel (1 million viewers), History (1 million), Discovery Channel (822,000) and USA Network (763,000) rounded out the top 10 most watched cable networks in primetime, said Nielsen.

Fox News was triumphant on a total day basis for the fifth consecutive week, outpacing MSNBC, CNN, TBS and HGTV, according to Nielsen.

This is a quick snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of Mar. 15-21, revealing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

March Madness captured the most watch-time during the week by far, accounting for 6.65% of all minutes, with 3.17% coming from games broadcast on CBS. Other sports-related programming that rose up the ranking included NBA basketball, PGA Tour golf and SportsCenter. Police procedurals Chicago P.D., Blue Bloods and NCIS moved up the chart, while shows that slipped week-over-week included Friends, Two and a Half Men, Home Town and The Voice. 

Also Read: NCAA March Madness Tourney Generating Record Ad Sales, Execs Say

The 2021 NCAA Basketball Tournament helped propel CBS into first place, with the network capturing 8.25% of all minutes watched during the week. March Madness also fueled a few other networks’ move up the ranking, including TBS (2.75% of watch-time), TNT (2.10%) and truTV (1.07%). Bravo got a slight bump up, taking No. 22 with 1.13% of minutes watched, thanks in part to reruns of Below Deck Mediterranean.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

Thanks to March Madness, college basketball games generated an astounding 9.3 billion TV ad impressions — nearly as many as CBS had in total for new episodes (10.1 billion). It was the only programming to receive over a billion impressions for the week; Good Morning America took second place with 883.3 million, a 15.92% increase from the previous week. The Bachelor saw an 81.89% week-over-week increase in impressions, up to 567.4 million, while The Voice’s 430.6 million impressions constituted a 26.76% decrease from the previous week.

CBS had nearly twice as many TV ad impressions (10.1 billion) as the second-place network, ABC (5.2 billion), and half of those impressions came from college basketball. MSNBC saw a 59.73% increase in impressions week-over-week, up to 3.1 billion and edging out CNN (2.5 billion impressions). After a week off the ranking, TBS came back strong with 2.3 billion impressions, primarily fueled by March Madness games. TNT and truTV also benefited from the tournament, with 1.5 billion and 840 million impressions, respectively.

 The NCAA March Madness men's college basketball tournament overshadows and otherwise busy weekend of live sports programming.

First round action of the tournament continues Saturday beginning at noon and runs throughout the day across networks ESPN, CBS, tru TV, TBS and TNT. Second round coverage launches on Sunday with eight games slated throughout the day.

The Women’s college basketball tournament kicks off on Sunday with first round coverage on ESPN, ESPNU, ESPN2 and ABC.

Auto racing events will speed up this weekend with NASCAR and Xfinity races on FS1 and IMSA 12 hours of Sebring coverage on NBCSN. Fox will air the NASCAR QuikTrip500 race on Sunday. 

The Six Nations rugby tournament enters its "Super Saturday" action Saturday on NBC with the England and Ireland match. In addition, CNBC will carry the Italy-Scotland match and NBCSN will air the Wales-France game.

On the combat sports front, ESPN will offer a UFC fight card featuring a middleweight main event between Derek Brunson and Kevin Holland, while ESPN will offer a Saturday matinee boxing match between light heavyweights Artur Beterbiev and Adam Deines.  DAZN will distribute the Vergil Ortiz Jr.-Maurice Hooker welterweight fight, as well as the Lawrence Okolie-Krzysztof Glowacki cruiserweight fight.

NBC and Golf Network will air final coverage of the PGA Honda Classic Sunday.

This is a quick snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of Mar. 8-14, revealing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

College basketball retained its grip on the top of the ranking, capturing 2.64% of all minutes watched during the week. The PGA Tour’s 2021 Players Championship came in second place (1.42%), followed by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (0.98%). The Voice rose from tenth to seventh place week-over-week, and essentially tied with the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, both with 0.63% of watch-time. Dateline: Secrets Uncovered was a new entrant to the ranking, taking No. 23 with 0.43%.

Thanks in part to the 2021 Players Championship and The Voice, NBC moved into first place, capturing 7.72% of all minutes watched last week. ABC, Fox, Fox News Channel, CNN, Nickelodeon, Bravo and TV Land all maintained their ranking positions week-over-week, while Ion Television had the biggest increase among the networks, moving from No. 15 to No. 12, thanks in part to reruns of Blue Bloods and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. 

Top Shows and TV Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

March Madness is approaching, and TV ad impressions for college basketball are going up: There was a 44.57% week-over-week increase, up to 2.3 billion, for games during the last week. The Voice rose up the ranking to fourth place with 587.8 million TV ad impressions, while the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards snagged seventh place with 506.3 million TV ad impressions. Impressions for The Bachelor edged up to 312 million, a 9.86% increase from the previous week. 

CBS continues to rule the network rankings, with its 5.9 billion TV ad impressions constituting a slight 1.61% increase from the previous week, driven in part by The Price Is Right, college basketball and the Grammys. Thanks in part to The Voice and the 2021 Players Championship, NBC rose up to second place with 4.2 billion impressions. TLC was another network with a week-over-week increase: it snagged 494.9 million impressions, with top shows including 90 Day Fiancé, Sister Wives and My 600-Lb. Life. Notably absent is TBS, which was No. 14 on the ranking the previous week but dropped to No. 63 (44.2 million impressions). 

This is a quick snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of March 1-7, revealing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

Once again, college basketball takes first place, with 1.65% of all watch-time during the week, followed by PGA Tour Golf (1.0%). NBA basketball, which was second place the previous week, dropped to No. 9 with 0.58% of minutes watched, while the 2021 NBA All-Star Game took No. 15 with 0.52%. The season 20 premiere of The Voice on NBC made the top 10 (0.57% of watch-time), while Oprah’s interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on CBS came in at No. 12 (0.55% of all minutes watched during the week). It’s also worth noting that for March 7, the Oprah interview was the No. 1 most-watched show that day (3.44% of all minutes watched).

Also Read: ‘Oprah With Meghan and Harry’ Was the Top Live, Linear Program on Sunday

On the network side of things, CBS took first place with 7.07% of minutes watched, thanks in part to college basketball games and Oprah’s interview with Meghan and Harry. With an assist from NBA basketball, TNT rose up to 10th place from No. 13 the previous week, capturing 1.80% of watch-time. TBS also saw a week-over-week ranking increase, taking No. 11 with 1.71%, thanks in part to reruns of Friends and The Big Bang Theory, as well as the NBA All-Star Game.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

College basketball games generated nearly 1.6 billion TV ad impressions during the week, while NBA games had 1.2 billion impressions. PGA Tour Golf came in third with 704.8 million impressions. The premiere of The Voice came in at No. 8 (533 million TV ad impressions), while Oprah With Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special took ninth (515.8 million impressions). The Bachelor squeaked into the top 25, with 284 million TV ad impressions, a 19.62% week-over-week decrease.

The top of the rankings was steady week-over-week, with CBS on top. Its 5.8 billion TV ad impressions constituted a 12.30% increase from the previous week, fueled in part by The Price Is Right and Oprah’s interview with Meghan and Harry. TNT saw a notable 101.27% increase in impressions week-over-week, with NBA basketball games accounting for over 63% of impressions. Discovery Channel was another network with a week-over-week increase, up 32.44% to 625.1 million, thanks in part to new episodes of Naked and Afraid: Gimme Shelter and Gold Rush.

 The NBA All-Star game highlights a busy sports lineup for the first weekend of March.

Due to the pandemic-driven shortened NBA schedule, Sunday’s TNT NBA All-Star game telecast from Atlanta will also feature coverage of the traditional Slam Dunk and Three-Point contests. In the past those events were featured as part of a two-day NBA All-Star festivities weekend. 

Read also: New Challenges for TNT's NBA All-Star Telecast

Meanwhile, college basketball heats up with weekend tournament action, with such conferences as the Southern Conference, Patriot League, West Coast, Sun Belt, Missouri Valley and Atlantic 10 all featuring playoff action across various networks. Nationally ranked teams will also see action Saturday including fourth-ranked Illinois against seventh-ranked Ohio State (ESPN), eighth-ranked Alabama against Georgia (CBS) and 10th ranked Villanova visiting Providence (Fox). On Sunday, ESPN will telecast the game between third-raked Baylor and 18th-ranked Texas Tech, Fox will carry the fifth-ranked Iowa -25th-ranked Wisconsin game and CBS will air the ninth-ranked Houston-Memphis contest.

Also on Sunday, Fox will feature coverage of NASCAR’s Pennzoil 400 race, and NBC offers NHL action with a Buffalo Sabers-New York Islanders telecast -- part of a quadrupleheader across NBC and NBCSN celebrating “Hockey Day in America.” 

On the ring sports front, ESPN Plus will offer the UFC 259 pay-per-view event featuring the Jan Blachowicz-Israel Adesanya light heavyweight championship main event bout. 

This is a quick snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of  Feb. 22-28, revealing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

Sports continue to capture the most watch-time, led by college basketball (1.56% of all minutes watched), followed by NBA games (1.16%) and PGA Tour Golf (0.92%). SportsCenter also saw increased viewership (0.51%), up to No. 13 from No. 23 the previous week. Thanks in part to marathons, Home Town and The First 48 jumped up the ranking, to No. 10 and No. 23, respectively. Aside from college basketball, only three other programs maintained their ranking week-over-week: Good Morning America, Ridiculousness and ABC World News Tonight With David Muir.

Thanks in part to PGA Tour Golf and the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards, NBC rose into first place with 6.84% of minutes watched during the week. Hallmark had the biggest ranking jump compared to the previous week, up to No. 10 from No. 16, with help from marathons of The Golden Girls. Chart newcomers compared to the previous week included MTV and A&E, taking No. 24 and No. 25, respectively, fueled by marathons of their own (Ridiculousness and The First 48).

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

College basketball squeezed past the NBA to take first place for TV ad impressions, with games generating over 1.44 billion impressions vs. 1.41 billion. PGA Tour Golf took third place with 778 million impressions, a 50.12% week-over-week increase. The 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards generated 346.8 million TV ad impressions while American Idol, which aired at the same time, generated 282 million impressions.

CBS maintained its first-place position, receiving slightly more TV ad impressions (5.2 billion) compared to the previous week (4.9 billion), driven in part by new episodes of The Price Is Right, The Young and the Restless and CBS This Morning — although college basketball also contributed 351 million TV ad impressions to the network’s total. Golf rose up the ranking to No. 12 with 511.1 million TV ad impressions, 67% of which came from PGA Tour broadcasts. HGTV also saw a week-over-week increase, up to 446.2 million impressions from the previous week’s 379.8 million, with Home Town delivering the top impression-count for the network (89.1 million).

The final weekend of February will feature a mix of boxing and mixed martial arts events as well as hoops and ice action across broadcast and cable channels. 

Saturday night also features a heavy lineup of combat sports events, beginning with Fox’s primetime telecast of the Anthony Dirrell-Kyrone Davis super middleweight championship fight. The DAZN streaming service will offer Canelo Alvarez’s defense of his super middleweight championship belt against Avni Yildirim.

Also Read: DAZN Steps Back into Ring with Canelo Alvarez

On the mixed martial arts front, ESPN+ will stream the UFC’s fight card from Las Vegas, featuring the Jairzinho Rozenstruik-Ciryl Gane heavyweight main event.

ABC continues its primetime Saturday night NBA telecasts with the Dallas Mavericks-Brooklyn Nets game. The network will also televise a Sunday afternoon game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee Bucks. 

On Sunday, NBC will televise the Boston Bruins-New York Rangers NHL game before moving to the greens for final round coverage of the PGA Tour’s WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession tournament. 

NBCSN serves up a number of Premier League soccer and Guinness Six Nations rugby games on both Saturday and Sunday. 

Also Read: Six Nations Rugby on Peacock Premium, NBCN Feb. 27

Several college basketball conferences -- including the America East and Big South -- are launching championship tournaments this weekend as the sport moves toward its “March Madness” NCAA tournament selection day on March 14. Meanwhile, a number of top 10 teams are in play Saturday including top-ranked Gonzaga against LMU (ESPN), second-ranked Baylor facing 17th-ranked Kansas (ESPN), third-ranked Michigan against Indiana (Fox), fifth-ranked Illinois facing 23rd-ranked Wisconsin (ESPN), seventh-ranked Oklahoma battling state rival Oklahoma St. (ABC), and 10th-ranked West Virginia meeting Kansas State (ESPN2).

 A bevy of live sports content is slated for the penultimate weekend in February. 

ESPN will air live early morning coverage of the Australian Open women’s finals match between Jennifer Brady and Naomi Osaka, followed on Sunday morning with the men’s finals matchup. 

ABC will hit the basketball court Saturday night with its telecast of the Miami Heat-Los Angeles Lakers game -- a rematch of the 2020 NBA Finals -- while Sunday night ESPN will telecast the Brooklyn Nets-Los Angeles Clippers game in primetime. 

Showtime and ESPN will feature live Saturday night primetime boxing cards. Showtime’s telecast will offer a main event fight featuring former welterweight champion Adrien Broner against Jovanie Santiago, while ESPN will offer a junior lightweight title fight between champion Miguel Berchelt and Oscar Valedez. 

Read Also: Showtime Pins Down Bellator MMA Deal

On Sunday afternoon Fox will air the Pro Bowler’s Association Players Championship, followed by coverage of the NASCAR Cup Series auto racing event. Also on Sunday, Golf Channel and CBS will team to air the final rounds of the PGA Tour Genesis Invitational golf tournament. 

College basketball continues to march toward next month’s March Madness tournament with several matchups between top-ranked schools. On Sunday third-ranked Michigan travels to face fourth-ranked Ohio State on CBS  in the weekend’s marquee matchup, while on Saturday ABC will air the matchup between 13th-ranked West Virginia and 12-ranked Texas, and ESPN will televise 15th-ranked Texas Tech against 23rd-ranked Kansas. 

NBC will take to the rink for a Saturday afternoon NHL matchup between the Las Vegas Golden Nights and the Colorado Avalanche and on Sunday with coverage of the Philadelphia Flyers-Boston Bruins game. 

This is a quick snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of  Feb. 8-14, revealing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Vizio’s Inscape, the TV data company with insights from a panel of millions of active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

Coverage of former President Trump’s second impeachment trial took the top two spots for watch-time, with CNN’s broadcast at No. 1, accounting for 2.36% of all minutes watched during the week. College and NBA basketball remained in the top five, while other sports broadcasts made the ranking including PGA Tour Golf, the 2021 Australian Open and the 2021 Daytona 500. Blue Bloods, Home Town and Family Feud each jumped into the top 25 after being absent the previous week.

Also Read: Media Plays Central Role in Second Donald Trump Impeachment

Once again, CBS took first place (6.92% of all minutes watched), but ABC and NBC were close behind, with 6.42% and 6.37%, respectively. CNN and Fox News swapped places compared to the previous week, thanks in part to CNN’s coverage of the impeachment trial, while the other networks in the top 10 maintained their rank week-over-week. Propelled partially by The First 48, A&E made it into the top 25 for the first time in a while.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

NBA games took first place for TV ad impressions with 1.4 billion, a slight 1.76% week-over-week decrease. College basketball followed closely behind with 1.1 billion impressions, a 10.74% decrease compared to the previous week. And while PGA Tour Golf had a 2.27% week-over-week decrease in impressions, it jumped up from 10th to fifth place compared to the previous week. The Daytona 500 just made the top 10, coming in at No. 9 with 511.4 million impressions, while The Bachelor jumped from No. 24 to No. 14 this time, with its 374.9 million impressions representing a 9.06% week-over-week increase.

Also Read: Sports and OTT: Streaming Could Squeeze the Last Vestige of Appointment TV

CBS retained its No. 1 position with over 5 billion TV ad impressions, followed by ABC (4.2 billion) and NBC (3.5 billion). The rest of the top 10 included the usual suspects such as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ESPN, among others, and notably the Weather Channel was the only top-10 network that had fewer than 1 billion impressions — 890.3 million, a 52.76% week-over-week increase, thanks in part to coverage of Winter Storm Shirley. On the flip side, TNT was among the networks that had week-over-week decreases in impressions, dropping from No. 11 to 18 with 405.6 million impressions, a 41.27% decrease.

NASCAR's return to the airwaves highlights a diverse lineup of live sports events scheduled for the three-day weekend.

NASCAR launched its 2021 Cup Series this week, leading up to Fox’s live coverage of Sunday's Daytona 500 event. On Saturday, FS1 offers live coverage of NASCAR’s Xfinity Series as well as the ACRA Menards Series Racing event.  

Also Read: Sports and OTT: Streaming Could Squeeze the Last Vestige of Appointment TV

The Tennis Channel and ESPN2 will take the courts to offer three-day weekend coverage of the Australian Open, pro tennis' first of four Grand Slam events in 2021. On the greens, Golf Channel and CBS will tag team to provide weekend coverage of the PGA Tour’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament. 

On the combat sports front, ESPN Plus will offer live coverage of the UFC 258 pay-per-view event on Saturday, headlined by the Kamaru Usman-Gilbert Burns welterweight championship fight.

ABC will continue its Saturday night primetime NBA coverage with the Brooklyn Nets-Golden State Warriors contest, while NBC will offer Valentine’s Day NHL coverage of the Washington Capitals-Pittsburgh Penguins game. 

Streaming service Peacock Premium will offer live weekend coverage of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations Championship Rugby tournament, while NBCSN provides live weekend coverage of four Premier League soccer contests.

Also Read: Six Nations Rugby on Peacock Premium. NBCSN

College basketball’s top-ranked team Gonzaga leads a heavy load of games over the holiday weekend. On Saturday, Gonzaga will travel to San Francisco to face the Dons on ESPN2, while fourth-ranked Ohio State hosts Indiana on ESPN, Fifth-ranked Villanova meets 19th-ranked Creighton on Fox and ninth-ranked Virginia plays North Carolina on ESPN. 

On Sunday, CBS will air the game between third-ranked Michigan and 21st-ranked Wisconsin. President’s Day will feature ninth-ranked Virginia against 17th ranked Florida State on ESPN.

This is a quick snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of  Feb. 1-7, revealing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Vizio’s Inscape, the TV data company with insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

As you’d expect, the No. 1 program from Feb. 1-7 was Super Bowl LV, capturing 5.44% of all minutes watched. The only non-sports show in the top five was The Equalizer, which premiered on CBS immediately following the Big Game and grabbed 0.89% of watch-time for the week. Its appearance, along with a few other Super Bowl-related telecasts, resulted in multiple shows slipping in the ranking compared to the previous week. The programs that did see week-over-week rank increases included The Golden Girls, Gunsmoke and Love It or List It.

Also Read: Paramount Plus Gets Big Chunk of Super Bowl Promo Time

CBS remained in first place — and nearly doubled its percentage of minutes watched week-over-week, up to 12.43%, thanks in part to the Super Bowl and related coverage. NBC and ABC swapped places compared to the previous week, while all the other top-10 networks maintained their ranking positions. TNT jumped up to No. 11 with an assist from NBA basketball games, capturing 1.63% of watch-time.

Now that the NFL season has come to a close, what other TV shows are football fans watching? Inscape’s crossover data reveals that (not counting news or sports programming), reality, game show and comedy series lead the list, many of them from NBC.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

Naturally, the Super Bowl was No. 1 for TV ad impressions, racking up 6.3 billion (down slightly from last year’s 6.7 billion). The two pre-game shows from CBS also made the top 10: The Super Bowl Today generated 992 million TV ad impressions, while Super Bowl Kickoff Show had 639.7 million impressions. There were only four non-sports/news programs on the ranking this time, led by The Price Is Right, coming in at No. 9 with 629.3 million impressions, a 15.86% increase from the previous week.

Also Read: State Farm, Dexcom Super Bowl Spots Score With Ad Research Firms

Thanks in part to the Big Game, CBS scored nearly three times more TV ad impressions than any other network last week (12.8 billion). NBC and ABC were neck and neck in second and third places, each with around 4.6 billion impressions. The remaining top 10 networks kept their ranking positions week-over-week, with minor changes to total impression counts. Propelled by its annual Puppy Bowl, Animal Planet jumped up from No. 33 to No. 21 with 341.3 million TV ad impressions, a 115.97% week-over-week increase. Golf was another network that rose up the ranking, landing at No. 20 with 342.8 million impressions, a 23.88% increase from the previous week.

Also Read: Watch the Super Bowl LV Commercials

This is a quick snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of Jan. 25-31, revealing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Vizio’s Inscape, the TV data company with insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

With no NFL games until the Super Bowl next Sunday, first place on the show ranking went to college basketball last week, capturing 1.12% of watch-time, followed by NBA basketball (1.01%). Notably, aside from Good Morning America and SportsCenter, every single program on the ranking moved up at least one spot compared to its position the previous week. Among the biggest leaps: NCIS: New Orleans, The First 48, The Price Is Right and Gunsmoke.

CBS kept its hold on first place, capturing 6.63% of minutes watched last week, followed by ABC (6.54%) and NBC (6.30%). MSNBC, Hallmark Channel, Univision, Nickelodeon and Discovery Channel held steady, while Lifetime continued its rise, moving into No. 21, with help from Rizzoli & Isles reruns and the premiere of Wendy Williams: The Movie.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

The only TV programming to snag more than a billion impressions last week was NBA basketball, with 1.2 billion. College basketball took second place (981.8 million impressions) followed by Today (734.7 million), Good Morning America (703.8 million) and SportsCenter (639.3 million). The Price Is Right jumped into sixth place with 543.2 million impressions, a 14.03% increase from the previous week. The Bachelor also saw a week-over-week increase in impressions, up 6.87% to 357.6 million. One new addition to the ranking was ¡Despierta América!, coming in at No. 25 with 277 million TV ad impressions.

Although CBS had a 38.24% week-over-week decrease in TV ad impressions, it still held on to first place, with The Price Is Right as its top impressions-generating show during the week. ABC jumped into second place with 4.9 billion impressions, a 25% increase from the previous week. History Channel saw a 53% week-over-week increase in TV ad impressions, propelling it up to No. 20 from No. 27 the previous week. Top impressions-generating shows on the network included The Curse of Oak Island, American Pickers and Swamp People: Blood and Guts.

With pro football games off the schedule this weekend (ahead of Super Bowl LV on CBS on Feb. 7), college basketball takes center court, with many of the sport's top-ranked teams in play on Saturday and Sunday. 

On Saturday, No. 1 Gonzaga will battle Pepperdine on ESPN2, while second-ranked Baylor will host Auburn on ESPN and third-ranked Villanova will travel to face Seton Hall on Fox. Eighth-ranked Virginia will meet 20th-ranked Virginia Tech on ACC Network, ninth-ranked Alabama will meet 24th-ranked Oklahoma on ESPN and tenth-ranked Texas Tech will go to battle LSU on ESPN2. On Sunday, sixth-ranked Houston will host SMU on ESPN. 

The NBA will tip off a Saturday primetime NBA matchup between the champion Los Angeles Lakers at the Boston Celtics on ABC, while NBA TV will air a doubleheader on Sunday featuring the Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets and the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards. 

CBS and Golf Channel will split afternoon coverage of the PGA Farmers Insurance Open on both Saturday and Sunday, while NBC and NBCSN will offer three Premier League Soccer games on Saturday (Everton vs. Newcastle United, Manchester City vs. Sheffield United and Arsenal vs. Manchester United). 

Fox will step into the boxing ring for a primetime Saturday night fight card telecast, led by the Caleb Plant-Caleb Truax super middleweight championship fight.

The NCAA's March Madness men’s college basketball tournament will take place entirely in Indiana this Spring, a year after the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA announced Monday. 

The unprecedented arrangement will allow for all 67 tournament games to take place in and around Indianapolis beginning in March, with the tournament's Final Four scheduled for April 3 and April 5, according to the organization. 

Tournament games will take place on two courts inside Indiana's Lucas Oil Stadium -- with only one game at a time being played --  as well as Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Mackey Arena in West Lafayette and Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, according to the organization. It's unclear if fans will be allowed in the venues. 

CBS Sports and Turner Sports will continue to distribute all 67 games of the tournament across TBS, CBS, TNT, truTV and their respective digital platforms, according to the NCAA.

The announcement comes nearly a year after the NCAA canceled the popular tournament last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Also Read: NCAA Cancels March Madness

“The 2021 version of March Madness will be one to remember, if for no other reason than the uniqueness of the event,” NCAA senior VP of basketball Dan Gavitt in a statement. “With the direction of the Men’s Basketball Committee, we are making the most of the circumstances the global pandemic has presented."

The second weekend in December will see NBA pre-season games join a very busy lineup of televised sports events.

The NBA will launch a shortened pre-season schedule this weekend with six games beginning with tonight's Houston-Chicago matchup on NBATV and Sacramento-Portland game on ESPN. The NBA's 2020-21 regular season launches Dec. 22, less than three months after the end of the 2019-20 season that was delayed due to the pandemic. 

Week 14 of the NFL season will include several nationally televised matchups featuring potential playoff teams including Kansas City-Miami (CBS) and Minnesota-Tampa Bay (Fox). NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast will feature the Pittsburgh Steelers-Buffalo Bills contest.

Also Read: Amazon Gets Exclusive for NFL’s Dec. 26 49ers-vs.-Cardinals Game

Both college football and college basketball will continue to forge ahead even as the pandemic continues to force cancellations of high-profile games. Top-rated Alabama will visit Arkansas in a Saturday afternoon game on ESPN, but games featuring fourth-ranked Ohio State against Big Ten rival Michigan, fifth-ranked Texas A&M versus Old Miss, and eighth-ranked Cincinnati against Tulsa were canceled or postponed due to the pandemic. 

Other top 10-ranked teams in action this weekend include ninth-ranked Georgia at 25th-ranked Missouri (SEC Network) and sixth-ranked Florida at home against LSU (ESPN).

The MLS will conclude its pandemic-delayed 2020 season Saturday night when the Seattle Sounders meet the Columbus Crew SC in the MLS Cup on Fox.

The UFC and ESPN Plus step into the PPV octagon for the last time in 2020 with its UFC 256 event featuring a flyweight championship main event bout between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno.

On the college basketball court, ninth-ranked Villanova plays Georgetown Friday on FS1, 12th-ranked Tennessee plays Cincinnati in a Saturday afternoon contest on the SEC Network, and 11th-ranked West Virginia plays at home against 19th-ranked Richmond on Sunday (ESPN).

The TV sports lineup for the first weekend of December will feature some of the top ranked college football and basketball teams as well as a major pay-per-view boxing event. 

College football will enter the final leg of its regular season with several key matchups, including a primetime matchup between top-ranked Alabama and LSU (CBS) and afternoon games featuring fifth-ranked Texas A&M at Auburn (ESPN), fourth-ranked Ohio State (pictured) at Michigan State (ABC), and third-ranked Clemson at Virginia Tech (ABC).

Boxing will once again take center stage in the pay-per-view combat sports ring with Fox Sports’ Errol Spence-Danny Garcia welterweight championship fight. The fight, which will retail at $74.95, will pit two of the top welterweight fighters in the sport.

The NFL will look to complete its week 13 Sunday schedule without any major COVID-19-related postponements outside of moving its Baltimore Ravens-Dallas Cowboys Dec. 3 Thursday Night Football game to Tuesday (Dec. 8) and Sunday's Washington Team-Pittsburgh Steelers games to Monday (Dec. 7.)  NBC’s primetime Sunday Night Football game features an AFC West matchup between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs.

College basketball will feature an early matchup of top-ranked teams as number one Gonzaga plays second-ranked Baylor Saturday afternoon (CBS), while 12th-ranked Villanova travels to play 17th-ranked Texas (ESPN). 

NBC and NBCSN will continue its coverage of Premier League soccer games on Saturday and Sunday, while ESPN on Sunday will televise the Sakhir Grand Prix Formula One auto racing event.

The sports world continues to be challenged by COVID-19 as numerous pro and college sports events have been postponed or cancelled this Thanksgiving weekend due to the pandemic.

In the NFL, the Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers game has been postponed a second time and will now be played on Tuesday night as more Ravens players have tested positive for the virus. At least 18 Ravens players have now tested positive for the virus, including Ravens quarterback and last year’s league MVP Lamar Jackson, according to ESPN.com.

The game was originally scheduled for Thanksgiving night Nov. 26, then earlier this week was moved to Nov. 29 before settling in on Dec. 1. The Ravens’ Dec. 3 Thursday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys has also been rescheduled and will  take place on Dec. 7, with Fox airing the game.

The Ravens-Steelers game is the second NFL game to be played on a Tuesday night this season, following the Oct. 13  Buffalo Bills-Tennessee Titans game, which was moved from its original Sunday, Oct. 11 date due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the Tennessee franchise. 

On the college football front, at least 12 games have been cancelled this weekend due to COVID-19, including several games featuring ranked teams. Fourth-ranked Ohio State’s game with Illinois was postponed due to positive COVID-19 test results within the Buckeyes’ program. Other postponed or cancelled games include seventh-ranked Cincinnati against Temple, 11th-ranked Oklahoma and West Virginia and 16th-ranked Wisconsin against Minnesota -- marking the first time those Big Ten teams haven’t played each other in a season since 1906.

College basketball began its 2020-21 season this past week as more than 40 of the 357 Division I programs have paused or have canceled their season altogether due to COVID-19 concerns, including top-ranked schools Baylor and Duke, according to USAToday.com.  

Despite the cancellations, there’s still a lot of live sports action on television this weekend. Third-ranked Clemson will return to the college football field Saturday against Pittsburgh (ESPN), leading a number of rivalry week games that include top-ranked Alabama against 22nd-ranked Auburn (CBS) and fifth-ranked Texas A&M against LSU (ESPN). 

On the pro front, CBS’ Kansas City-Tampa Bay game highlights the league's national afternoon games, while NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast pits Chicago against Green Bay in an NFC North division matchup.

On the pay-per-view front, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson returns to the ring in an exhibition boxing match against Roy Jones Jr. The fight card can be purchased online at $49.99 through FITE.tv and TysonOnTriller.com as well as through traditional cable distributors via In Demand.

CBS Sports will air Big East Conference men’s regular-season college basketball games through the 2024-25 season as part of a sub-licencing deal with Fox Sports.

The agreement calls for CBS Sports Network and CBS broadcast network to offer 20 men’s regular season games per year, with at least two appearances for each of the 10 schools, said network officials. CBS broadcast network will broadcast up to four games per season with the remainder airing on CBS Sports Network, said company officials.

“CBS Sports has partnered with the Big East for more than 35 years, and we are thrilled to be able to continue to showcase the conference across our platforms for years to come,” said Dan Weinberg, executive vice president, Programming for CBS Sports in a statement. “The depth of the conference has never been stronger, and we are excited to continue our long-standing relationship with the Big East in delivering high-quality basketball to our viewers.”

On Thursday (March 15) CBS and Turner Sports tip-off their eighth year of March Madness coverage, airing and streaming live every game of the popular men’s college basketball tournament.

On TV, fans can watch every play of every game through a mix of channels including broadcast network CBS, as well as cable networks TNT, TBS and truTV. If you don’t want to scroll up and down the channel lineup looking for those channels, the NCAA March Madness Live streaming app will provide easy switching from game to game on a single screen and can be accessed on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku the Xbox One gaming console and other platforms.

RELATED: Turner's David Levy and CBS Sports' Sean McManus discuss coverage of the 2018 'March Madness' Tournament (Video)

If you’re at work, in the car or at the mall, the games are also available on your mobile phone via NCAA March Madness Live. For hardcore fans, Turner/CBS will offer Fast Break, a live streaming “whip-around” service that will switch between every tournament game during the first two days as well as provide real-time analysis and social media reaction.

With so many platforms available to watch the games, it’s hard to imagine a time when only one or two games were available to watch at a time during the first two rounds of the tournament. TNT and CBS have helped revolutionize the way viewers experience the tournament, according to sports consultant Lee Berke.

“The demand has always been there to see more and more of these games on a live, real-time basis on multiple platforms, but the technology hadn’t caught to the demand,” Berke said. “Finally the technology and the platforms have caught up to what the fans want to see.”

With this year’s version of March Madness generating $1.28 billion in advertising revenue – up 3.3% from last year according to Kantar Media – sponsors continue to make a fast break toward the tournament and are not overly concerned about potential audience splintering due to the various platform offerings.

“From a media company standpoint and from a sponsor standpoint nobody loses out,” Berke said. “All  the eyeballs and revenue are captured, and it leads to a great business model that works well for the rights holders, the sponsors and the sports fans.”

All that’s left is to sit back and watch the madness unfold.  

beIN Sports will add mixed martial arts fights and college basketball and football games as part of several new sports content acquisitions announced during then network’s upfront presentation Monday.

beIN Sports, which offers sports-themed English and Spanish language networks, has become the official broadcaster of the Women’s Tennis Association as part of a deal with the WTA that runs through 2021, said network officials. The network has also signed multi-year deals with motorcycle racing series MotoAmerica and the North America Soccer League.

In addition, the network will add MMA as well as college football an college basketball events to its English-language channel.

The new deals will complement its soccer coverage which incudes multi-year deals with CONMEBOL and CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers, LaLiga, Serie A and Ligue 1.

“beIN Sports remains steadfast in reaching passionate sports fans and prioritizes delivering top, original live content in their language of choice,” said Yousef Al Obaidly, Deputy CEO beIN Media Group in a statement. “This year, we are expanding our multiplatform offerings and rethinking our English programming strategy to more fervently reflect our commitment to North American sports fans.”