This weekend’s list of live TV sports events begins Saturday on the basketball court with the start of the NBA Playoffs. 

After a week of play-in games to determine the final four playoff teams, the NBA’s first round, best-of-seven post-season series begin Saturday afternoon on ESPN with the Brooklyn Nets against the Philadelphia 76’ers, the Atlanta Hawks facing the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks meeting the Cleveland Cavaliers. ABC will round out Saturday’s action with the Golden State Warriors-Sacramento Kings telecast.

On Sunday, ABC will televise the L.A. Lakers-Memphis Grizzlies contest, while TNT offers up a tripleheader beginning with the L.A. Clippers-Phoenix Suns clash. Also slated for Sunday on TNT is the Milwaukee Bucks game against the winner of Friday’s Chicago Bulls-Miami Heat play-in contest, and the Denver Nuggets matchup against Friday’s Oklahoma City Thunder-Minnesota Timberwolves winner. 

Football fans will have two spring leagues to watch as the USFL kicks off its second season Saturday alongside week nine of the XFL's inaugural season. Fox on Saturday will televise USFL matches featuring the Philadelphia Stars and Memphis Showboats and the New Jersey Generals against the Birmingham Stallions, while NBC on Sunday will carry the Houston Gamblers-Michigan Panthers contest and FS1 will air the Pittsburgh Maulers-New Orleans Breakers game. 

On the XFL front, ABC on Saturday will televise the Vegas Vipers-Houston Roughnecks matchup while ESPN2 tackles the Orlando Guardians-San Antonio Brahmas game. On Sunday, ESPN will air the Arlington Renegades-D.C. Defenders game and the Seattle Sea Dragons-St. Louis Battlehawks contest.  

On the links, CBS and Golf Channel will televise weekend final round coverage of the PGA RBC Heritage golf tournament, while on the bowling lanes Fox and FS1 will offer weekend coverage of  the PBA World Series of Bowling tournament.

USA, Peacock and NBC will continue its weekend Premier League coverage with a total of nine live games across Saturday and Sunday. Fox on Sunday will air an MLS contest between LAFC and LA Galaxy 

On the racetrack NBC on Sunday will televise the Grand Prix of Long Beach IndyCar race, while FS1 televises the NASCAR Cup NOCO 400 race. On the baseball diamond, ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball contest will feature the Texas Rangers against the Houston Astros. 

The prestigious Masters PGA golf tournament highlights the list of live sports events taking place during Easter weekend.

CBS will offer late round coverage of the Masters tournament from Augusta National Golf Club throughout the weekend. Friday’s second round of the tournament was suspended due to rain with Viktor Hovland, John Rahm, Sam Bennett and Brooks Koepka all vying for the top spot on the leaderboard. 

ESPN's Thursday coverage of the tournament's first round was viewed by an average of 2.5 million viewers, according to the network. 

In the boxing ring, ESPN on Saturday will feature a lightweight boxing matchup between Shakur Stevenson and Shuichiro Yoshino, while Showtime will feature a junior middleweight bout between champion Sebastian Fundora and Brian Mendoza. 

In the octagon, ESPN Plus will distribute the UFC 287 pay-per-view match between middleweight champion Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya.  

On the ice, ABC will offer an afternoon NHL tripleheader including the Pittsburgh Penguins-Detroit Red Wings and Vegas Golden Knights-Dallas Stars afternoon games, followed by the New Jersey Devils-Boston Bruins primetime matchup.

Fox on Saturday will televise the Wood Memorial horse racing event, while on Sunday the network will televise the NASCAR Cup Food City Dirt Race event.  

ESPN will air a XFL doubleheader featuring the Vegas-St. Louis and Arlington-Orlando games. On Sunday ABC will air the Houston-San Antonio game, while ESPN2 will carry the D.C.-Seattle contest.

USA, NBC and Peacock will televise a combined 10 Premier League soccer games over the weekend, while TNT on Saturday will televise the women’s soccer game between the US team and Ireland.

The NBA regular-season concludes Sunday with two national game telecasts on ESPN (Atlanta Hawks-Boston Celtics and Utah Jazz-L.A. Lakers). Also Sunday, ESPN will televise the San Diego Padres-Atlanta Braves Sunday Night Baseball contest.

This weekend’s lineup of live TV sports action starts on the baseball diamond as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox continue their longtime rivalry.

On Saturday night Fox will televise the Yankees-Red Sox game from Fenway Park, while ESPN on Sunday will air the rubber game of the series as part of its Sunday Night Baseball presentation.

Also from the baseball diamond, Peacock on Sunday will stream the San Diego Padres-Washington Nationals game.

In the boxing ring, ESPN on Saturday will televise the Teofimo Lopez-Pedro Campa junior welterweight fight, while in the octagon ESPN will air the Marlon Vera-Dominick Cruz UFC bantamweight fight.

On the links NBC and Golf Channel will offer final round coverage of the PGA St. Jude Championship golf championship, while on the soccer field USA, NBC and Peacock will air a combined nine Premier League games over the weekend.

ABC will offer a Sunday WNBA doubleheader telecast featuring the Minnesota Lynx-Connecticut Sun and the Seattle Storm-Las Vegas Aces games. ■  

The launch of the 2022-23 Premier League soccer season kicks off the lineup of live TV sports events slated for the first weekend of August. 

NBC Sports will mark its 10th year of Premier League coverage with eight live games on streaming service Peacock over the weekend, while USA Network will provide live coverage of the Chelsea-Everton matchup. 

Also on the soccer field, ABC on Saturday will air MLS action featuring Seattle at Atlanta, while Fox will televise the Dallas-Portland contest. 

On the links, USA Network and NBC will offer final round coverage of the LPGA British Open while CBS and the Golf Channel televise weekend coverage of the PGA Wyndham Championship.

ESPN will enter the octagon Saturday night for a UFC Fight Night telecast featuring a main event bout between light heavyweights Thiago Santos and Jamahal Hill. 

Peacock’s Sunday afternoon baseball game will feature an American League battle between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Guardians, while ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will showcase National League West rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres. 

ABC will hit the hardwood Sunday with WNBA doubleheader action, beginning with the Connecticut Sun-Chicago Sky contest, followed by the Las Vegas Aces-Seattle Storm game.■ 

The list of live TV sports events scheduled for the last weekend in July starts in the Octagon Saturday with ESPN Plus's UFC 277 pay-per-view rematch fight between multi-division champion Amanda Nunes and current bantamweight champion Julianna Peña.

Nunes, arguably the greatest women’s MMA fighter of all time, will look to regain the bantamweight title from Peña, who defeated Nunes in a shocking upset last December. 

In the boxing ring, Showtime on Saturday will televise the junior middleweight fight between former welterweight champion Danny Garcia and Jose Benavidez Jr.

NBC on Saturday will rev up its engines to televise the Xfinity Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard and the IndyCar Gallagher Grand Prix auto races. On Sunday, the network will air the NASCAR Cup Verizon 200 at the Brickyard race, while ESPN will offer the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix race. 

On the drag racing circuit, Fox on Sunday will televise the NHRA Northwest Nationals competition. 

Peacock’s Sunday afternoon baseball telecast will feature the Detroit Tigers against the Toronto Blue Jays, while ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature the Chicago Cubs against the San Francisco Giants.

On the golf links, CBS will feature weekend coverage of the PGA’s Rocket Mortgage Classic, while Golf channel will televise the LPGA’s Scottish Open. ■ 

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of July 11-17, highlighting 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).

The PGA Tour’s Open Championship (British Open) scored the most watch-time on TV for the week of July 11-17. Cameron Smith’s one-stroke victory fueled the event toward 2.21% of minutes watched on the week -- over 2.5x more than the next most-watched program.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• Syndicated shows account for half of the top 10 in our ranking, led by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit at No. 2, airing on ION, USA Network, NBC and MyNetworkTV.
• NBA Summer League drives watch-time for audiences looking to get a glimpse of the Association’s top young stars, en route to 0.62% of the week’s minutes watched (No. 8 overall).
• Track and field sprints into our ranking at No. 11, thanks to the World Athletics Championships taking place in Eugene, Oregon.
• Oxygen show Snapped pops into our ranking at No. 24, after the true crime program didn’t appear among the top 50 the previous week.

NBC’s coverage of the Open Championship fuels its leap to the top of our list of most-watched networks. Following a No. 3 finish the previous week with 5.41% of watch-time, NBC scored 6.79% from July 11-17.

Additional insights around the most-watched networks from the week:

• IFC rides syndicated comedies and classic movies like A League Of Their Own from No. 9 to No. 6 week-over-week.
• USA Network hops from No. 13 to No. 7 week-over-week, courtesy of the Open Championship, Tour De France and NASCAR Cup Series.
• Family Feud helped push The CW from No. 28 to No. 24 week-over-week.
• Bravo glides from No. 24 to No. 20 week-over-week as audiences flocked to various iterations of the Below Deck franchise.

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 Open Championship’s four days of action gave the PGA Tour a TV ad impressions win for the week. The golf event accounted for 3.88% of impressions from July 11-17 – more than double the share of impressions the Scottish Open earned the previous week.

More data about the top programs by TV ad impressions:

• Good Morning America retains its spot at No. 2 by impressions, but increases its week-over-week share, from 2.39% to 2.49%.
• A three-episode week drives Big Brother up from No. 25 to No. 15 week-over-week in our ranking.
• Speaking of reality TV: The Bachelorette’s season premiere -- with two Bachelorettes -- arrives at No. 25 in our ranking.
• Morning Joe’s share of TV ad impressions climbs from 0.67% to 0.90% week-over-week as the program ranks No. 23 from July 11-17.

Fox News sits at No. 1 in our ad-impressions-by-network ranking for a third straight week, delivering 12.55% of impressions (up slightly from 12.44% the previous week).

Additional insights around the top networks by impressions:

• NBC’s share of impressions leaps from 10.00% to 11.81% week-over-week, as golf delivers for advertisers.
• Peacock hit Below Deck Down Under arrived on Bravo on July 11, spurring new interest from linear TV audiences and a jump from No. 24 to No. 14 week-over-week in our ranking.
• ABC’s share of impressions grows from 10.53% to 11.95% week-over-week between The Bachelorette and a return to a normal weekly schedule following the July Fourth holiday.
• National Geographic’s share of impressions increases by more than 4x week-over-week due in part to the start of the network’s month-long SharkFest event.

The July 4 holiday weekend slate of live TV sports events begins on the football field as the upstart USFL concludes its inaugural season with its Championship Game between the Birmingham Stallions and Philadelphia Stars.

Also on tap for the weekend is WNBA action as ESPN televises the Phoenix Mercury-Chicago Sky contest on Saturday as well as Sunday’s Washington Mystics-Connecticut Sun contest. Also on Sunday, NBA TV will air the Seattle Storm-Atlanta Dream game and CBSSN will televise the New York Liberty-Los Angeles Sparks game.

On the links, CBS and the Golf Channel will offer coverage of the final rounds of the John Deere Classic PGA tournament.

On the racetrack, NBC Sunday will air the Honda Indy 200 IndyCar Series race, while USA Network will televise the NASCAR Cup Series Kwik Trip 250 race and ESPN covers the British Grand Prix Formula One race.

ESPN Plus on Saturday will distribute the UFC 276 pay-per-view bout between Israel Adesanya and Jared Cannonier.

ESPN will continue its Wimbledon tennis tournament coverage throughout the three-day holiday weekend. On Monday, ESPNNews will telecast live the annual Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Peacock’s Sunday afternoon baseball game will feature the Kansas City Royals against the Detroit Tigers, while ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball matchup pits the St. Louis Cardinals against the Philadelphia Phillies.

NBC, Peacock and USA Network on Saturday will offer live coverage of the Tour de France cycling event, with USA and Peacock offering third-round coverage on Sunday.

MLB Network will offer a full day of Independence Day baseball games featuring five regional telecasts scheduled to begin as early as 11 a.m., according to the network. ■

The live TV sports lineup for the last weekend in June starts on the baseball diamond with ESPN’s coverage of the College World Series matchup between Mississippi and Oklahoma. 

On the Major League Baseball front, Peacock on Sunday will stream an afternoon baseball game between the New York Mets and the Miami Marlins, while ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Atlanta Braves.

In other sports, ESPN on Saturday will telecast a live UFC Fight Night card featuring a main event lightweight bout between Arman Tsarukyan and Mateusz Gamrot. 

On the greens, NBC will provide final rounds coverage of the Women’s PGA Championship and CBS along with Golf Channel will televise the Travelers Championship PGA event. 

On Saturday, Fox and NBC will each televise a USFL semifinals playoffs game. On the soccer field, ESPN and ABC on Saturday will each televise MLS games, while both ABC and FS1 will feature a live MLS game telecast on Sunday.

From the race track, CBS Saturday will televise the SRX Series race from South Boston, Va., while USA Network will air the Xfinity Tennessee Lottery 250 race. NBC Sunday will televise the Ally 400 NASCAR Cup race. ■   

This weekend’s lineup of TV sports events starts on  the golf course with coverage of the final rounds of the PGA Championship golf tournament.

ESPN and CBS will offer third round coverage on Saturday and championship round coverage on Sunday from Tulsa. Will Zalatoris, Mitro Pereira, Justin Thomas, Rory Mcllroy and Bubba Watson are among the golfers in the hunt for the top prize.

The NBA and NHL continue their respective playoff runs with games on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, ABC Will air game three of the Miami Heat-Boston Celtics Eastern Conference Finals series, while on Sunday, TNT will televise the third game of the Golden State Warriors-Dallas Mavericks Western Conference series.

The NHL Playoffs continue Saturday with second round coverage with TNT’s Colorado Avalanche-St. Louis Blues game on TNT. On Sunday, ESPN will televise the Florida Panthers-Tampa Bay Lightning contest, ESPN will air the Carolina Hurricanes-New York Rangers match and ESPN2 will showcase the Calgary Flames-Edmonton Oilers contest. 

ESPN will travel to the Big Apple for its Sunday Night Baseball telecast between the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees. 

The USFL enters its sixth week with coverage of the Tampa Bay Bandits-Philadelphia Stars on NBC and the Michigan Panthers–Birmingham Stallions. On Sunday, FS1 will carry the Pittsburgh Maulers-New Orleans Breakers game and Fox will televise the Houston Gamblers-New Jersey Generals contest. 

On Sunday CBS will televise the Professional Bullriding World Finals, while NBC begins its coverage of the French Open tennis tournament. Also Sunday, NBC, CNBC, Golf Channel, SyFy and USA Network will all carry live Premier League contests. ■ 

 The TV sports lineup for the Easter holiday weekend starts on the football field as the USFL kicks off its inaugural season on Saturday. 

Fox and NBC on Saturday will simulcast the eight-team league’s first game between the New Jersey Generals and the Birmingham Stallions. 

Sunday’s games include Houston Gamblers-Michigan Panthers (NBC), Philadelphia Stars-New Orleans Breakers (USA) and Tampa Bay Bandits-Pittsburgh Maulers (FS1). The USFL's 10-week season will run through June. 

Also: USFL Kicks Off Inaugural Season: TV Sportsplay 

The NBA Playoffs tip off this weekend with first-round play throughout the weekend. On Saturday ESPN will air the Utah Jazz-Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves-Memphis Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors-Philadelphia 76’ers games, while ABC telecasts the Denver Nuggets-Golden State Warriors matchup.

On Sunday, ABC will air the Brooklyn Nets-Boston Celtics game, and TNT will televise the Chicago Bulls-Milwaukee Bucks contest.

Also: NBA Playoff Ads Nearly sold Out as Post Season Launches on ESPN, TNT

On the ice, ABC on Saturday will televise the Minnesota Wild-St. Louis Blues game, and ESPN on Sunday will telecast the Florida Panthers-Detroit Red Wings matchup.

Showtime on Saturday will step into the pay-per-view boxing ring to distribute the Errol Spence Jr.-Yordenis Ugas welterweight boxing championship fight.

Also: Showtime Punches Up Marketing Efforts for Errol Spence-Yordenis Ugas PPV Boxing Event 

Fox on Sunday hits the race track for the NASCAR Cup City Dirt Race, and ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature a matchup between the 2021 World Series champion Atlanta Braves and the San Diego Padres. 

CBS and the Golf Channel will offer final round coverage of  the PGA RBC Heritage golf tournament throughout the weekend, while streaming service Peacock, CNBC and USA Network will televise live Premier League soccer matches. ■ 

Tiger Woods’ return to PGA tournament competition leads this weekend’s list of televised sports events.

Woods is competing in this weekend’s Masters tournament less than 17 months after suffering severe leg injuries in a horrific car crash. The tournament, which airs live on CBS, is the first major PGA event for Woods since playing in the 2020 Masters tournament.

Also: Tiger Woods' Comeback Gives ESPN Masters Coverage 21% Boost in Viewers

On the diamond, Major League Baseball’s opening weekend showcases five live games on MLB Network, concluding with ESPN’s first Sunday Night Baseball telecast featuring a game between heated rivals the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. 

In the ring, DAZN will feature the International Boxing Federation middleweight title fight between champion Gennady Golovkin and challenger Ryota Murata. Showtime will feature a main event bout between junior middleweights Erickson Lubin and Sebastian Fundora. 

ESPN Plus will enter the octagon Saturday with the UFC 273 pay-per-view event featuring a main event featherweight championship matchup between titleholder Alexander Volkanovski and Chan Sung Jung.

On the ice, ABC Saturday will air the Washington Capitals-Pittsburgh Penguins NHL game, while on Sunday TNT will air a doubleheader featuring the Boston Bruins-Washington Capitals and the Nashville Predators-Penguins game. 

The NBA enters the final weekend of its regular season with Sunday games on ESPN (Indiana Pacers-Brooklyn Nets) and TNT (Boston Bruins-Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors-New Orleans Pelicans.)

USA, NBC and Peacock will feature more than nine Premier League games combined on Saturday and Sunday. ESPN and FS1 will feature Major League Soccer games over the weekend. NBC will feature the IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach auto race. ■    

Golf legend Tiger Woods expects to play at the Masters golf tournament this weekend, more than a year after a serious car accident threatened to end his career.

Woods announced his intentions to play in the prestigious tournament Tuesday during a press conference for the event, which begins on Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club. Woods hasn’t played in a major pro tournament since suffering severe leg injuries in a February 2021 car crash. Woods has also suffered from debilitating back injuries throughout the latter part of his illustrious career, in which he has won the Masters five times. 

The last PGA Major tournament Woods played in was the November 2020 Masters tournament.

Woods, who this past December played with his son Charlie at the PNC Championship celebrity/family golf tournament, said during the conference that he would practice on Wednesday before making a final decision about competing in the tournament. 

Also: ESPN Extends Deal with NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski

ESPN and ESPN Plus will offer full coverage of the Masters tournament beginning Thursday with first-round coverage. Below is ESPN’s Masters TV schedule through Friday: 

Tuesday, April 5

Noon-2 p.m.

Tuesday at the Masters on ESPN+ 

Wednesday, April 6

10 a.m.-Noon

Wednesday at the Masters on ESPN+ 

Noon-3 p.m.

Par 3 Contest on ESPN+ 

Noon-1 p.m.

SportsCenter at the Masters

1 p.m.-2 p.m.

SportsCenter at the Masters 

2 p.m.-3 p.m.

SportsCenter at the Masters 

3 p.m.-5 p.m.

Par 3 Contest on ESPN 

5 p.m.-6 p.m.

SportsCenter at the Masters on ESPN 

Thursday, April 7

8:45 a.m.-3:45 p.m.

Featured holes (Nos. 4, 5 & 6)on ESPN+ 

9:15 a.m.-7:30 p.m.

Featured groups on ESPN+ 

10 a.m.-2 p.m.

SportsCenter from the Masters on ESPN 

10:45 a.m.-6 p.m.

Amen Corner on ESPN+

11:45 a.m.-7 p.m.

Featured holes (Nos. 15 & 16) on ESPN+ 

3 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

First round of the Masters on ESPN 

7:30 p.m.-8 p.m.

SportsCenter at the Masters on ESPN 

8 p.m.-11 p.m.:

First round of the Masters (encore) on ESPN

Friday, April 8

8:45 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Featured holes (Nos. 4, 5 & 6) on ESPN+ 

9:15 a.m.-7:30 p.m.

Featured groups on ESPN+ 

10 a.m.-2 p.m.

SportsCenter from the Masters on ESPN 

10:45 a.m.-6 p.m.

Amen Corner on ESPN+ 

11:45 a.m.-7 p.m.

Featured holes (Nos. 15 & 16) on ESPN+ 

3 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

First round of the Masters on ESPN 

7:30 p.m.-8 p.m.

SportsCenter at the Masters on ESPN ■ 

The 2022 March Madness NCAA men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments will be in full swing this weekend and dominate the lineup of live TV sports events.

The men’s tournament will begin its second round with 16 games over two days airing on CBS, TNT and TBS to determine which teams go into the tournament’s Sweet 16 round next week. Already the tournament has featured several upsets, including St. Peter’s overtime win over second-ranked Kentucky in the Eastern regionals Thursday night. 

The women’s college basketball tournament kicks off Saturday with 64 teams competing for the top prize. ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews will feature live coverage of the tournament’s first round action. 

In other sports, NBC and The Golf Channel will offer weekend final round coverage of the PGA Valspar Championship golf tournament. NBC will also feature Six Nations rugby coverage Saturday featuring the Ireland-Scotland game, while USA Network will televise live Premier League soccer games on Saturday and Sunday. 

On Sunday, TNT will televise the New York Islanders-Philadelphia Flyers National Hockey League contest. On the racetrack, Fox will televise the Sunday afternoon NASCAR Cup Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 race, NBC will air the IndyCar XPEL 375 race and ESPN will offer coverage of the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix race. ■ 

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. 

The TV sports lineup for the last weekend of February starts on the basketball court as ABC and ESPN offer a full weekend of NBA action. 

ABC’s weekly Saturday primetime NBA game telecast will feature the Brooklyn Nets against the defending league champion Milwaukee Bucks. On Sunday, ABC airs an NBA doubleheader featuring the Philadelphia 76’ers-New York Knicks and the Utah Jazz-Phoenix Suns games. Sunday night, ESPN telecasts its own NBA doubleheader block, offering the Dallas Mavericks-Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans-Los Angeles Lakers contests.  

On the college basketball front, ESPN on Saturday will air games including top-ranked Gonzaga versus No. 23 Saint Mary’s, third-ranked Auburn battling No. 17 Tennessee, fourth-ranked Purdue facing off against Michigan State, fifth-ranked Kansas against No. 10 Baylor and ninth-ranked Duke taking on Syracuse. Other top 10 ranked teams in action Saturday include second-ranked Arizona-Colorado (ESPN2), No.6 Kentucky-No. 18 Arkansas (CBS) and No. 9 Texas Tech-TCU (ESPN2).

On the ice, ABC will televise a live Saturday afternoon NHL game between the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins, while TNT will air a primetime NHL matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Nashville Predators. On Sunday NHL Network will televise the Edmonton Oilers-Carolina Panthers and New York Islanders-Anaheim Ducks games. 

Showtime will offer a late Saturday night boxing card headlined by the Chris Colbert-Hector Luis Garcia junior lightweight bout. ESPN Plus will air a UFC Fight Night mixed martial arts bout between Islam Makhachev and Bobby Green.

Round three of the Guinness Six Nations Rugby tournament continues Saturday on CNBC with Scotland facing France and England battling Wales. On the soccer field, USA Network will offer two live Premier League games Saturday and one Sunday telecast. Sunday will also feature live Major League Soccer action on FS1 and ESPN. 

On Sunday, NBC will air the IndyCar Grand Prix of St. Petersburg auto race, while Fox offers the NASCAR Cup Wise Power 400 event. Fox will also televise the Pro Bowlers Association’s Tournament of Champions event.

On the links, NBC and Golf Channel will televise final round coverage of the PGA Honda Classic tournament. ■

This weekend’s list of live TV sports events starts on the baseball field with ABC's Saturday coverage of the Little League World Series semifinals between Ohio and South Dakota and Michigan and Hawaii. ESPN on Sunday will air the World Series Championship as well as the third place game.

ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature the New York Yankees against the Oakland A's.

In other sports, NBC and NBCSN will offer weekend coverage of the Paralympics events from Tokyo. NBC will also team with Golf Channel to offer weekend coverage of the PGA BMW Championship golf event. 

The 2021 college football season kicks off with several contests on Saturday, highlighted by the Nebraska-Illinois afternoon game on Fox. ESPN will televise the Hawaii-UCLA game while CBSSN offers coverage of the UConn-Fresno State contest.

NBC on Saturday will televise the NASCAR Cup Coke Zero Sugar 400 auto race, while ESPN on Sunday will televise the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix event. 

On the soccer field NBC and CNBC will offer live Saturday Premier League soccer game telecasts, while NBCSN will feature Saturday and Sunday morning league games. Fox will lead the weekend's MLS coverage with the LA Galaxy-LAFC contest, with FS1 and ESPN offering Sunday morning league coverage.

The NFL pre-season ends this weekend with several Sunday national broadcast TV airings including CBS' Miami-Cincinnati game and NBC's Cleveland-Atlanta contest.

Showtime on Sunday will distribute a pay-per-view boxing match between YouTube sensation Jake Paul and former mixed martial arts world champion Tyron Woodley. On Saturday, ESPN will televise a live UFC Fight Night card featuring the Edson Barboza-Giga Chikadze featherweight main event fight. 

The first weekend of June will feature a stellar lineup of live sports events from boxing to NBA and NHL playoff games. 

Sunday will feature the return of boxer Floyd Mayweather to the pay-per-view ring in an exhibition fight against YouTube star Logan Paul. The Showtime-distributed PPV fight will retail at a suggested price of $49.99, according to industry sources. 

The second round of the NBA Playoffs will tip off on Saturday with the first game of the Milwaukee Bucks-Brooklyn Nets series on TNT. On Sunday, ABC will air the first game of the Atlanta Hawks-Philadelphia 76’ers matchup as well as game 7 of the first-round matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the L.A. Clippers. 

Also Read: PPV Boxing's Summer Bonanza

USA Network on Saturday will air second round coverage of the Carolina Hurricanes-Tampa Bay Lightning series while NBC airs game four of the Boston Bruins-New York Islanders series. NBCSN will offer Sunday coverage of the Winnipeg Jets-Montreal Canadiens game three matchup as well as game four of the Colorado Avalanche-Vegas Golden Knights series.

In other TV sports events, ESPN will air weekend coverage of the college softball world series as well as Sunday Night Baseball coverage of the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees game.

Also Read: Weekly Cable Ratings: TNT Wins in Primetime 

CBS and Golf Channel will offer weekend coverage of the PGA Tour Memorial Tournament, while NBC will air final round coverage of the US Women’s Open.   

Turner Sports and TNT will once again take to the greens in July for its Capital One’s The Match celebrity golf tournament, with this year’s version featuring 2021 PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson.

The July 6 live event is the fourth of The Match events and will feature Mickelson and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady -- who also teamed up for TNT's May 2020 The Match event -- against 2020 U.S. Open Champion Bryson DeChambeau and reigning NFL league MVP Aaron Rodgers, according to the network. The participants will play in a modified alternate shot match, with all four players having open mics throughout the competition. 

Read Also: Turner Sports Secures NHL TV Rights Deal

Mickelson this past November teamed with NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley to play Stephen Curry and Peyton Manning in Capital One’s The Match: Champions for Change.  

Capital One's The Match will take place at Moonlight Basin in Big Sky, Montana. 

The National Hockey League will drop the puck on its postseason campaign Saturday, highlighting a busy weekend in live sports events.

NBC will kick off its postseason coverage with a Saturday primetime telecast featuring the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals matchup, while NHL Network will air the Vancouver Canucks-Edmonton Oilers game. On Sunday NBC will offer first round coverage of the New York Islanders-Pittsburgh Penguins and the Minnesota North Stars-Vegas Golden Knights series. 

Also Read: Turner Sports Secures NHL TV Rights Deal

The NBA will wrap up its regular season slate Sunday with an ESPN doubleheader with playoff implications featuring the Boston Celtics at the New York Knicks game and the Memphis Grizzlies at the Golden State Warriors contest.

The WNBA will launch its 2021 season opening weekend with a pair of games on ABC Saturday and two games Sunday on CBSSN. 

On Saturday NBC will rev up its engines to air the IndyCar Series GMR Grand Prix race, while Fox will take to the bowling lanes on Sunday with live coverage of the PBA Finals. CBS and the Golf Channel will feature weekend coverage of the PGA’s Byron Nelson golf tournament, while ESPN will offer Sunday Night Baseball coverage of the St. Louis Cardinals-San Diego Padres contest.

Showtime will air a Saturday night tripleheader boxing card featuring the Luis Nery-Brandon Figueroa super bantamweight championship bout, while the UFC offers its UFC 262 pay-per-view fight card featuring the Charles Oliveira-Michael Chandler lightweight championship main event.

Also Read: Showtime Sets June Gervonta Davis-Mario Barrios PPV Boxing Event 

The UFC 261 pay-per-view event highlights a packed weekend of live sports programming. 

ESPN Plus will stream the UFC 261 mixed martial arts fight card, headlined by the Kamaru Usman-Jorge Masvidal welterweight fight. Other combat sports include ESPN’s Saturday night boxing card featuring the Emanuel Navarrete-Christopher Diaz featherweight bout. 

ABC’s Saturday night primetime NBA telecast will feature the Los Angeles Lakers against the Dallas Mavericks, while sister sports network ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature the San Diego Padres-Los Angeles Dodgers game. 

NBC will air two NHL hockey games this weekend, including Saturday’s Colorado Avalanche-St. Louis Blues game and Sunday’s Boston Bruins-Pittsburgh Penguins contest. 

CBS will take to the links for weekend coverage of the Zurich Classic PGA golf tournament, while FS1 will offer Saturday and Sunday coverage of the Pro Bowler’s Association’s Round of 16 Kia Playoffs. 

In auto sports, Fox will televise the NASCAR Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 race on Saturday and the Geico 500 NASCAR Cup race on Sunday.

Major League Soccer will kick off its 2021 regular season this weekend with a Saturday evening game on Fox (Austin FC vs LAFC) and Sunday afternoon telecast on ABC (LA Galaxy vs Inter Miami), as part of a busy TV sports weekend across cable and broadcast networks. 

On the combat sports front, Fox will feature a primetime Saturday night boxing match headlined by a super welterweight bout between Tony Harrison and Bryant Perrella. Triller will also step into the boxing week on Saturday with a PPV fight card featuring YouTube star Jake Paul facing off against former MMA fighter Ben Askren. 

Read also: Triller Looking to Shake Up PPV Event Category

ESPN on Saturday will telecast a UFC Fight Night mixed martial arts card culminating in a main event bout between Robert Whittaker and Kevin Gastelum. 

In other sports, ABC will air a primetime Saturday night game between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics.

CBS will air final round coverage of the PGA RGB Heritage Golf tournament on Saturday and Sunday, while NBC will offer NHL game telecasts on both Saturday and Sunday afternoon. 

NBC will also air on Sunday the Grand Prix of Alabama IndyCar race, while Fox will telecast live the Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Cup Series race.  

ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature the Atlanta Braves against the Chicago Cubs. 

The final rounds of the March Madness men's and women's college basketball tournaments and the return of Major League Baseball highlight the first full weekend of April.

The four remaining teams in the men’s college basketball tournament will face off Saturday night on CBS. Houston will face Baylor in the first matchup, with UCLA battling top-seeded Gonzaga in the second game. The winners will face each other in the finals on Monday night on CBS. 

ESPN on Sunday will televise the women’s college basketball tournament championship game pitting Arizona against Stanford.

Major League Baseball will take the field for the first weekend of its 2021 regular season with national games Saturday on MLB Network (Toronto vs. New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox vs LA Angels), as well as FS1 (Atlanta vs Philadelphia and LA Dodgers vs Colorado). On Sunday, ESPN will carry the Atlanta vs Philadelphia and Chicago White Sox vs LA Angels games, while MLB Network airs the Arizona vs San Diego contest.

On the NBA front, the LA Clippers-LA Lakers will continue their intra-city rivalry Sunday on ABC, while on the NHL ice NBC will telecast the Detroit-Tampa Bay contest. High school basketball will also be in play Sunday as CBS airs the Slam Dunk & 3-Point championship event.

Also on Sunday, NBC and the Golf Channel will team to carry the final round of the  PGA Texas Open golf tournament, while FS1 will air the finals of the Pro Bowling Association’s USBC Masters tournament. 

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.

 Sunday's Super Bowl LV game overshadows a busy weekend live sports event  calendar.

The game between the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, will air live on CBS starting at 6:30 pm (ET). Last year’s Chiefs-San Francisco 49’ers Super Bowl telecast on Fox averaged 100 million viewers. 

Read Also: A Look at NFL Social Video Trends Ahead of the Super Bowl 

Along with CBS' broadcast TV coverage, the Super Bowl will also stream for free on the CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app, as well as Verizon properties including Yahoo Sports and NFL digital properties. ESPN Deportes and ESPN digital platforms will offer the game in Spanish. 

Read Also: Super Bowl to Stream on Multiple Platforms

Beyond the big game on Sunday, Golf Channel and NBC will team to present final round coverage of the PGA’s Phoenix Open golf tournament. NBC will also hit the ice for a NHL game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals, while sister sports channel NBCSN will air five Premier League soccer game throughout the day. 

College basketball has a huge slate of games this weekend featuring a number of top 10 teams. Saturday afternoon games include sixth-ranked Texas battling Oklahoma State on ABC and ninth-ranked Oklahoma hosting Iowa State on ESPN2. On Sunday Fox will telecast third-ranked Villanova’s game against conference rival Georgetown and eighth-ranked Iowa’s game with Indiana.

ABC will lace up for a primetime NBA telecast featuring the Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks, while CBS airs the NFL Honors event. 

Also Saturday, ESPN+ will feature a UFC Fight Night card featuring the Alistair Overeem-Alexander Volkov heavyweight main event bout. 

College and pro football games as well as mixed martial arts action are on the menu for sports fans as the industry heads into the Thanksgiving week.

The NFL’s 11th week on Sunday will feature an NBC Sunday Night Football matchup between AFC West rivals Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders. Other national game telecasts from CBS (New England at Houston) and Fox (Green Bay at Indianapolis) are also on the docket.

The college football schedule is highlighted by Saturday afternoon contests between third-ranked Ohio State and ninth-ranked Indiana on Fox and fourth-ranked Clemson and Florida State on ABC. Primetime games feature 14th-ranked Oklahoma State and 18th-ranked Oklahoma on ABC, and 20th-ranked USC and Utah on ESPN.

The UFC will step into the octagon Saturday night for its UFC 255 pay-per-view event, which will feature as its main event the Alex Perez-Deiveson Figueiredo featherweight championship. The card will also feature women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko defending her title against Jennifer Maia.

NBC will offer Premier League soccer coverage on Saturday, while NBCSN will air league games on Saturday and Sunday. FS1 and ESPN will feature Major League Soccer coverage on Sunday. Meanwhile, Golf Channel will provide coverage of the PGA’s RSM Classic on Saturday and Sunday.

This is a quick snapshot of TV by the numbers for the month of August, revealing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Inscape, plus a look at what viewers were binge-watching. Also below: the top shows and networks by TV ad impressions with insights via iSpot.tv. You can see July’s rankings here.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks 

Via Inscape, the TV data company with insights from a panel of more than 16 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).

Looking at programming, of all the minutes watched in August by smart TVs that Inscape measured, sports took four of the top five spots, led by NBA basketball with 2.35% of the time spent watching. NHL hockey took second place (1.02%), MLB baseball was at No. 3 (0.84%) and PGA Tour Golf took fifth place with 0.74% share duration. With sports capturing so much watched time in August, many shows that were higher in the charts in July slipped in the ranking this time.

On the network side of things, of all minutes watched in August, 6.72% of the time was spent on Fox News, making it No. 1 for the third month in a row, with a slight increase from July’s 6.09%. Two networks that previously didn’t make the top 50 list burst onto the scene in August: NBCSN at No. 21 and The Weather Channel at No. 24.

Reality Shows Ranked High for Binge-Watching

In August, the most binge-watched time-shifted shows (based on minutes binged as a percent of all binged shows that Inscape measured) were Big Brother, Yellowstone, 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After?, Married at First Sight and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. 

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. 

Counting SportsCenter, five out of the top 10 programs were sports, with NBA basketball leading the charge with a whopping 16.8 billion impressions — over three times as many as the No. 2 program, NHL hockey. PGA Tour Golf took sixth place, while MLB baseball racked up 2.7 billion impressions, putting in at No. 8. America’s Got Talent was the top non-news/sports show with 1.8 billion impressions, putting it at No. 16, ahead of Hurricane Laura coverage (1.6 billion impressions).

Looking at networks, Fox News was on top once again with 26 billion TV ad impressions, followed by NBC (17.4 billion) and CNN (15.5 billion). Thanks to NBA games, TNT saw a 564.38% month-over-month increase in impressions, moving it up the ranking from No. 22 in July to No. 8 in August. NBC Sports came in at No. 11 with 5.4 billion impressions, a month-over-month increase of 195.66%. 

The Masters Golf Tournament has been delayed among concerns about the coronavirus, which have led to the cancellation and postponement of nearly all high-profile sports events.

The Masters has long been a mainstay for CBS, which airs the final rounds, and for ESPN, which televises the early rounds on cable.

On Thursday, the PGA Tour canceled its golf tournaments leading up the the Masters.

The Masters had been planning to go head with the tournament as recently as March 4.

But in a statement Friday, Fred Ridely, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, said, “considering the latest information and expert analysis, we have decided at this time to postpone the Masters Tournament, the National Women’s Amateur and the Drive, Chip and Putt National Finals.”

The statement added that “Ultimately, the health and well-being of everyone associated with these events and the citizens of the Augusta community led us to this decision. We hope this postponement puts us in the best position to safely host the Masters Tournament and our amateur events at some later date.”

“We recognize this decision will affect many people, including our loyal patrons. Your patience as we make every effort to communicate effectively and efficiently is appreciated, and we will share any additional information as soon as it becomes available. Updates also will be posted to our website, Masters.com,” Ridley said.

Earlier, the NBA and the NHL canceled their regular seasons. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has also been canceled and the start of the Major League Baseball season has been pushed back.

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Turner will launch the live sports streaming service Bleacher Report Live (B/R Live) on April 7.

Turner described the service as “the central hub for both the discovery and consumption of live sports content,” allowing fans to “find and watch their favorite sports content anywhere, anytime and on the screen of their choice.”

Starting this summer, B/R Live will implement flexible pricing options, with direct access to live games for purchase on an a la carte or subscription basis.

The platform helps users find and watch live sports with the ability to scroll through a feed of real-time sports events, and offers personalization features that aggregate live sports content.

Sports on the platform include soccer’s UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, NBA League Pass games, 65 NCAA Championships and the PGA Championship, as well as the National Lacrosse League, The Spring League, Red Bull Global Rallycross and World Arm Wrestling League.

“As viewing habits continue to evolve, Turner is well positioned to provide fans with direct access to premium live sports content that is highly coveted by audiences of scale, including a high concentration of millennials,” said David Levy, president of Turner. “When we first acquired Bleacher Report in 2012, we knew the definition of a network was changing and we anticipated a time when B/R would become a virtual network. Today is a significant step in that direction and we will fully leverage the reach of B/R and its deep connection with passionate sports fans to provide compelling experiences for them across this new, exciting platform.”

NBA League Pass will allow fans to purchase and watch live NBA games in progress at a reduced price.

“For us, it’s really a question of bringing fans what they want,” said Adam Silver, NBA commissioner, offering the example of a fan tuning in as a star player goes for a historic point total.

Lenny Daniels, president of Turner Sports, called B/R Live "a game-changing product that will serve as the ultimate destination for the sports fan."

Golf analyst and Golf Channel talk show host David Feherty is leaving CBS to work fulltime for NBC Sports and the co-owned Golf Channel.

The deal covers Feherty joining NBC’s and Golf Channel's golf tournament coverage, including the upcoming Olympics; an extension of his Feherty Golf Channel series; and various new ventures, including a Universal Television development deal for potential, but as yet unamed, entertainment projects.

On a conference call Tuesday (Sept. 16), Golf Channel president Mike McCarley called Feherty a "unique and versatile" talent and said his show had been the anchor of the channel's prime time lineup.

Golf Channel has partnered with CBS on golf coverage for years, and McCarley gave a shout out to the network and its sports chairman, Sean McManus, for how it handled the transition with "class and professionalism."

Feherty, a former top golfer on the European tour and a TV host noted for his frank and funny interviews and commentary, called the move from CBS a difficult decision that CBS made as comfortable as possible.

NBC and Golf Channel sweetened the deal with a commitment to helping Feherty with a one-man stage show and to continuing to make Feherty's Troops First Foundation the Golf Channel's designated charity.