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<\/a><\/figure><\/div> This article is brought to you by\u00a0StatBanana<\/a>, the best Overwatch strategy tool. <\/em><\/p>
The Overwatch<\/em> League made its network TV debut last weekend when the stage one semifinals and finals<\/a> were aired on ABC. How did an esports league measure up to the March Madness aired on other networks? It did better than expected. <\/p>
According to Nielsen ratings\u00a0compiled by Showbuzz Daily<\/a>, the Overwatch<\/em> League grand finals aired on ABC pulled in 367,000 viewers on Sunday, March 24. The semifinals, aired on Saturday, March 23, had 306,000 viewers. These numbers may seem small in comparison to the millions of viewers that college basketball logged during the same time slot. But for a league with no network history, it’s more than enough. <\/p>
In comparison, last year’s Overwatch<\/a><\/em> League grand finals drew 289,175 per-minute viewers<\/a> from the United States. The full per-minute audience number also pulled from streaming websites, such as Twitch, MLG.com, and ESPN’s app. Overwatch<\/em> League’s season two opening week had a per-minute audience of 440,000<\/a>. The numbers for viewership on ABC on Sunday are made more impressive considering that many viewers in the United States experienced up to a 45-minute break due to breaking news reports cutting into programming. <\/p>
ABC will be airing the stage two semifinals and finals as well as the All-Star games<\/a>, which take place between the stage two and stage three break. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
