
'Arsenal have flipped the pressure on to Man City in title race'
Arsenal's 3-0 win over Fulham puts pressure on Man City in the title race.
NBC will air the Kentucky Derby and Celtics-Sixers Game 7 on Saturday, capitalizing on the Derby's large viewership. Last year's Derby attracted 17.7 million viewers, marking a 36-year high.
Credit: imagn images via Reuters Connect
NBC has made an unprecedented push in live sports on broadcast television thanks to their new TV contracts with the NBA and MLB. And it will pay off in a huge way on Saturday with a massive day of sports.
NBC will air the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. And although it may not immediately jump to mind as one of the most-watched sporting events of the year, it certainly is, at least for the race portion.
Last year’s race drew an incredible 36-year high with 17.7 million viewers. The Kentucky Derby is a social happening and it’s one of those sporting events that likely benefits from Nielsen’s increased focus on out-of-home viewership. But outside of the NFL, there are very few events that can command that kind of audience.
And it will lead to a great day for not just NBC and horse racing, but the NBA as well.
The Association has also seen great ratings news so far through the postseason, partly thanks to the increased broadcast exposure they have gotten from NBC. The network has averaged 4.9 million viewers through their first 13 games on NBC and Peacock, touting a 58% increase over comparable games last year.
With the first round of the NBA Playoffs coming to an end, the league and its broadcast partner could not have had a better draw for Saturday.
NBC will air Game 7 of the first round series between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers as the nightcap to an impressive schedule. New Derby contributor John Fanta is hyping it up, and for the soccer fans there’s even a crucial EPL game between Fulham and title contender Arsenal to get things started.
What more could the NBA on NBC ask for? A Game 7 between two major-market, Eastern Conference, traditional rivals and powerhouse brands? If the league could have picked any game for the post-Derby timeslot at the beginning of the first round, it would have been this one.
While specific viewership predictions for the Celtics-Sixers Game 7 are not provided, it is anticipated to benefit from the large audience drawn by the Kentucky Derby.
The Kentucky Derby attracted 17.7 million viewers last year, achieving a 36-year high.
NBC will air both the Kentucky Derby and the Celtics-Sixers Game 7 on Saturday.
The Kentucky Derby is significant for NBC as it draws a massive audience, which NBC aims to leverage for their NBA broadcasts.

Arsenal's 3-0 win over Fulham puts pressure on Man City in the title race.
Orlando Magic's Franz Wagner will miss Game 7 against the Pistons due to a calf strain.
Everton takes on Manchester City this Monday in the Premier League. Here’s what to expect!
FanDuel Racing experiences technical issues on Kentucky Derby day, affecting bets and deposits.
Richard Hughes captivated by potential Mo Salah replacement at Liverpool.
Arteta hails Arsenal's authority in 3-0 win over Fulham
See every story in Sports — including breaking news and analysis.
The impact of a quality lead-in is one of the most undervalued things when it comes to ratings. Yes, the complexity of ratings data makes it more challenging than ever to tell fact from fiction. But one of the reasons why the SEC dominated the Big Ten in ratings this past season was that ABC was able to air a triple-header of action all on one network. Big Ten fans were forced to jump between Fox, CBS, and NBC. That convenience and ability for one audience to naturally lead into another is huge.
For another example, the Professional Bull Riders drew their largest audience ever on CBS last October at over 2 million viewers, even outdrawing MLB playoff games head-to-head. Why? They aired directly after NFL single-header coverage.
There’s been a lot of talk about NBA ratings this season. And NBC will likely have a huge victory to claim once the final numbers come in. A 2024 Game 7 between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings drew 9.8 million viewers to be the most-watched first round game in 24 years. Celtics-Sixers has every opportunity to surpass that and cross the 10 million mark on Saturday night. And they’ll have some equine friends in Louisville, Kentucky to thank if it does happen.
The post NBA on NBC will cash in on Kentucky Derby audience with Celtics-Sixers Game 7 appeared first on Awful Announcing.