Best sports ratings of 2022, so far

Best sports ratings of 2022, so far

With the MLB All-Star break marking the unofficial halfway point of the sporting calendar, here is a look at the best sports ratings of the year so far.

In the first year of an expanded, 18-week regular season and the second of an expanded, six-game Wild Card round, the NFL accounts for fully half of the top 50. All 13 playoff games, all seven Week 18 windows and all five Week 17 windows made the list, topped by Super Bowl 56 at just shy of 100 million viewers. The first round of NFL Draft just missed out, its 10.03 million viewers ranking 52nd — just behind trailing the final round of the Masters (10.17M) and a night of the Olympics (10.14M). Keep in mind that the overwhelming majority of NFL games in 2022 have yet to be played.

The top non-NFL program, as is usually the case, was the Alabama-Georgia College Football Playoff National Championship on the ESPN networks in January (22.56M). The most-watched night of the Olympics, which aired directly following the Super Bowl, followed close behind (22.49M).

The top sporting event outside of football and the Olympics was North Carolina-Duke in the men’s basketball Final Four (17.66M), followed by the Kansas-North Carolina national championship (17.05M), horse racing’s Kentucky Derby (15.79M) and the clinching Game 6 of the NBA Finals (Warriors-Celtics: 13.99M).

All figures presented below are the official Nielsen estimates and do not include additional streaming data from other companies such as Adobe Analytics.

Best sports ratings and viewership of 2022 (so far)

Nielsen estimates obtained from various sources, including league and network PR, ShowBuzz Daily and Programming Insider.

SportsMediaWatch.com
# Sport Event Rtg Vwrs Net(s)
1 NFL Super Bowl 56
Rams – Bengals
36.9 99.18M NBC
2 NFL NFC Championship
49ers – Rams
23.4 50.23M FOX
3 NFL AFC Championship
Bengals – Chiefs
23.6 47.85M CBS
4 NFL AFC Divisional
Bills – Chiefs
21.7 42.74M CBS
5 NFL NFC Wild Card
49ers – Cowboys
20.7 41.50M CBS, NICK
6 NFL NFC Divisional
Rams – Buccaneers
19.8 38.14M NBC
7 NFL NFC Divisional
49ers – Packers
17.8 36.92M FOX
8 NFL AFC Divisional
Bengals – Titans
15.8 30.75M CBS
9 NFL NFC Wild Card
Eagles – Buccaneers
16.0 30.37M FOX
10 NFL AFC Wild Card
Steelers – Chiefs
14.7 28.94M NBC
11 NFL AFC Wild Card
Raiders – Bengals
14.2 27.70M NBC
12 NFL Regular season (Week 17)
mostly Cardinals – Cowboys (85%)
13.8 26.79M FOX
13 NFL AFC Wild Card
Patriots – Bills
13.2 26.37M CBS
14 NFL NFC Wild Card
Cardinals – Rams
12.7 23.15M ABC, ESPN, ESPN2
15 CFB CFP National Championship
Georgia – Alabama
12.1 22.56M ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU
16 OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Night 9 (Super Bowl lead-out)
10.5 22.49M NBC, USA
17 NFL Regular season (Week 18)
Cowboys – Eagles
10.6 20.21M ABC, ESPN
18 NFL Regular season (Week 18)
mostly 49ers – Rams (80%)
10.3 19.31M FOX
19 NFL Regular season (Week 18)
Chiefs – Broncos
10.4 19.10M ABC, ESPN
20 NFL Regular season (Week 17)
primarily Chiefs – Bengals (45%)
10.0 18.77M CBS
21 NFL Regular season (Week 17)
Vikings – Packers
9.9 18.55M NBC
22 NFL Regular season (Week 18)
Chargers – Raiders
9.8 17.69M NBC
23 MCBB Men’s Final Four
UNC – Duke
8.6 17.66M TNT, TBS, TruTV
24 MCBB Men’s National Championship
Kansas – UNC
9.1 17.05M TNT, TBS, TruTV
25 NFL Regular season (Week 18)
mostly Steelers – Ravens (82%)
9.1 16.86M CBS
26 CFB Rose Bowl
Ohio State – Utah
8.2 16.63M ESPN
27 Horse Kentucky Derby
Race segment
7.7 15.79M NBC
28 NFL Regular season (Week 17)
mostly Rams – Ravens (55%)
8.0 14.82M FOX
29 NFL Regular season (Week 18)
mostly Panthers – Buccaneers (57%)
7.8 14.17M CBS
30 NBA NBA Finals Game 6
Warriors – Celtics
7.5 13.99M ABC
31 OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Opening Ceremony
7.6 13.84M NBC
32 NFL Regular season (Week 18)
mostly Packers – Lions (59%)
7.6 13.78M FOX
33 MCBB Men’s Elite Eight
UNC – Saint Peter’s
7.2 13.58M CBS
34 NFL Regular season (Week 17)
Ravens – Steelers
7.3 13.26M ESPN, ESPN2
35 OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Night 1 (2/5)
6.8 13.17M NBC, USA, CNBC
36 NBA NBA Finals Game 5
Celtics – Warriors
7.0 13.03M ABC
37 OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Night 2 (2/6)
6.9 12.86M NBC, USA
38 OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Night 6 (2/10)
7.0 12.59M NBC, USA, CNBC
39 NBA NBA Finals Game 4
Warriors – Celtics
6.2 12.06M ABC
40 NBA NBA Finals Game 2
Celtics – Warriors
6.2 11.91M ABC
41 NBA NBA Finals Game 1
Celtics – Warriors
6.4 11.90M ABC, ESPN2
42 MCBB Men’s Final Four
Kansas – Villanova
5.8 11.70M TBS, TNT, TruTV
43 NBA NBA Finals Game 3
Warriors – Celtics
6.2 11.52M ABC
44 OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Night 5 (2/9)
6.5 11.45M NBC, USA, CNBC
45 MCBB Men’s second round
Duke – MSU
6.2 11.22M CBS
46 OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Night 3 (2/7)
6.2 10.87M NBC, USA, CNBC
47 MCBB Men’s Elite Eight
Duke – Arkansas
5.2 10.34M TBS
48 OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Night 4 (2/8)
5.9 10.34M NBC, USA, CNBC
49 MCBB Men’s Sweet Sixteen
Saint Peter’s – Purdue
5.4 10.18M CBS
50 Golf The Masters
Final round
5.8 10.17M CBS

In all, seven different sports properties made the top 50. Here is a breakdown by property:

best sports ratings by frequency

Honorable mentions

The following is a list of select sports telecasts that did not make the top 50. It is not a complete list, but a hodgepodge of notable events, with some skipped.

SportsMediaWatch.com
Sport Event Rtg Vwrs Net(s)
OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Night 11
5.8 10.14M NBC, USA, CNBC
NFL NFL Draft
First round
5.6 10.03M ABC, ESPN, NFLN
OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Night 7 (Feb. 11)
5.4 9.97M NBC, USA, CNBC
OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Night 8 (Feb. 12)
5.3 9.97M NBC, USA, CNBC
OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Night 13 (Feb. 17)
5.7 9.94M NBC, USA, CNBC
NBA East Finals Game 7
Celtics – Heat
4.6 9.88M ESPN
MCBB Men’s second round
Michigan – Tennessee
5.2 9.83M CBS
MCBB Men’s Elite Eight
Kansas – Miami
5.3 9.51M CBS
OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Night 10 (Feb. 14)
5.4 9.45M NBC, USA, CNBC
NASCAR Daytona 500 4.7 8.87M FOX
MCBB Men’s Sweet Sixteen
UNC – UCLA
4.8 8.82M CBS
MCBB Men’s second round
Kansas – Creighton
4.9 8.71M CBS
OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Night 12 (Feb. 16)
4.8 8.48M NBC, USA, CNBC
MCBB Men’s Sweet Sixteen
Duke – Texas Tech
4.8 8.23M CBS
OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Bonus night (2/3)
4.4 7.76M NBC, USA
NBA West semifinals Game 1
Warriors – Grizzlies
4.1 7.71M ABC
NBA East semifinals Game 7
Bucks – Celtics
4.0 7.48M ABC
Golf The Masters
Third round
4.3 7.43M CBS
NBA West Finals Game 3
Warriors – Mavericks
4.0 7.42M TNT
NBA East Finals Game 6
Heat – Celtics
3.5 7.19M ESPN
MCBB Men’s second round
UNC – Baylor
4.1 7.12M CBS
NBA East first round Game 1
Nets – Celtics
3.1 6.90M ABC
MCBB Men’s second round
Saint Peter’s – Murray State
3.7 6.69M CBS
NFL Pro Bowl
AFC – NFC
3.5* 6.69M ABC, ESPN, Disney XD
OLY Beijing Winter Olympics
Closing Ceremony
3.6 6.57M NBC
NBA West semifinal Game 7
Mavericks – Suns
3.2 6.29M TNT
NBA West semifinal Game 6
Grizzlies – Warriors
3.3 6.28M ESPN
NBA NBA All-Star Game
Team LeBron – Team Durant
3.1 6.28M TNT, TBS
NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 6
Avalanche – Lightning
2.9 5.82M ABC
MCBB Men’s first round
Saint Peter’s – Kentucky
3.1 5.46M CBS
Golf PGA Championship
Final round
3.1 5.27M CBS
Golf U.S. Open
Final round
2.9 5.27M NBC
Horse Preakness Stakes
Race segment
2.9 5.26M NBC
NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 5
Lightning – Avalanche
2.4 5.15M ABC
WCBB Women’s National Championship
South Carolina – UConn
2.6* 4.85M ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU
Horse Belmont Stakes
Race segment
2.7 4.72M NBC
IndyCar Indianapolis 500 2.7 4.62M NBC
NASCAR “Clash” at L.A. Coliseum 2.3 4.28M FOX
NBA NBA All-Star Saturday Night 2.0 4.24M TNT
NBA Regular season
Lakers – Warriors (2/12)
1.9 3.61M ABC
WCBB Women’s Final Four
UConn – Stanford
1.8* 3.23M ESPN, ESPNU
USFL Regular season (Week 1)
New Jersey – Birmingham
1.8 3.07M FOX, NBC
NHL East semifinal Game 7
Rangers – Hurricanes
1.4 2.79M ESPN
F1 Miami Grand Prix 1.3 2.58M ABC
Tennis Wimbledon men’s final
Novak Djokovic – Nick Kyrgios
1.3 2.24M ESPN
WCBB Women’s Elite Eight
UConn – NC State
1.3 2.04M ESPN
WCWS WCWS Final Game 2
Oklahoma – Texas
0.9 1.74M ESPN2
USFL USFL Championship
Birmingham – Philadelphia
0.9 1.52M FOX
NHL Winter Classic
Blues – Wild
0.6 1.36M TNT
WGYM Women’s College Gymnastics
National championship
0.6 922K ABC

* Asterisk indicates that the household rating does not include ESPNU/Disney XD simulcast.

Previous mid-year sports ratings lists are available at the following links: 2021, 2020*, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 (broadcast and cable separately).