Saturday’s Top Rank on ESPN telecast, featuring Vasyl Lomachenko successfully defending his WBO World Junior Lightweight title against Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-1-0, 11 KO), delivered big on ratings and viewership, making it Saturday’s most-viewed telecast on cable television among men 18-34 and men 18-49, according to final viewership data from Nielsen Media Research. Overall, 2,114,000 tuned in for Loma-Rigo. It was the second most-viewed boxing telecast on cable television in 2017, trailing Manny Pacquiao-Jeff Horn, which peaked at 3,925,000.
December 9 Top Things to Know
· All four of Saturday night’s fights within the telecast averaged at least 1.6 million viewers and rank among the top eight fights on cable in 2017
· Saturday’s Top Rank on ESPN averaged 1,845,000 viewers across ESPN and ESPN Deportes, including 405,000 Hispanic viewers
· On ESPN, the full telecast averaged 1,730,000 viewers and was the most-viewed Hispanic telecast of the day on the network
· On ESPN Deportes, the full telecast averaged 115,000 viewers and was the most-viewed telecast of the day on the network
· On ESPN, the telecast averaged 290,000 Hispanic viewers and 17% of the audience was of Hispanic descent. The telecast was the most-viewed telecast of the day on cable television among Hispanic adults 18 to 49.
Top Rank on ESPN to date
· Saturday’s Top Rank on ESPN telecast ranks as the second most-viewed boxing telecast on cable in 2017, behind the Top Rank on ESPN Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn July telecast
· To date, Top Rank on ESPN is averaging 1.6 million viewers and 55% of the audience has been multicultural
· Top Rank on ESPN has also aired the twelve most-viewed fights on cable in 2017
*Note that telecast refers to full window (e.g. 9 p.m. to 12 a.m.) and fight refers to each single fight during the telecast
Viewers for Top Boxing Fights on Cable Television in 2017
ESPN
07/01/2017
Manny Pacquiao/Jeff Horn
3,925,000
ESPN
07/01/2017
Jerwin Ancajas/Teiru Kinoshita
2,234,000
ESPN
12/09/2017
Vasyl Lomachenko/Guillermo Rigondeaux
2,114,000
ESPN
07/01/2017
Michael Conlan/Jarrett Owen
1,867,000
ESPN
11/11/2017
Artur Beterbiev/Enrico Koelling
1,725,000
ESPN
12/09/2017
Shakur Stevenson/Oscar Mendoza
1,687,000
ESPN
12/09/2017
Chris Diaz/Bryant Cruz
1,647,000
ESPN
12/09/2017
Michael Conlan/Luis Fernando Molina
1,635,000
ESPN
08/19/2017
Terence Crawford/Julius Indongo
1,327,000
ESPN
11/11/2017
José Ramírez/Mike Reed
1,182,000
ESPN
07/01/2017
Shane Mosley Jr./David Touissaint
1,177,000
ESPN
08/19/2017
Oleksandr Gvozdyk/Craig Baker
968,000
Next up for Top Rank on ESPN is the Saturday, February 3 bout between Gilbert “Zurdo” Ramirez, Mexico’s super middleweight champion, defending his World Boxing Organization (WBO) title against Top-Five world-rated contender Habib “Wild Hurricane” Ahmed from Accra, Ghana. The fight will take place at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX, and will be televised live and exclusively at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN Deportes and stream live on the ESPN App.