Deontay Wilder's first-round victory over Dominic Breazeale resulted in Showtime's highest viewership for a boxing broadcast of 2019.
The fight, which only lasted a couple of minutes thanks to a thunderous right hand from Wilder, peaked at 990,000 viewers through both live television and streaming. The fight, which headlined a three-fight broadcast from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, averaged 886,000 viewers through live television and on Showtime's online streaming channels.
Breaking down the viewership numbers and ratings, here are what they look like based on certain times late in the broadcast, which started at 9 p.m. ET:
- 9:00 p.m.: 248,000 viewers, 0.07 rating in the 18-49 demographic
- 9:17 p.m.: 319,000 viewers, 0.08 rating in the 18-49 demographic
- 9:59 p.m.: 433,000 viewers, 0.12 rating in the 18-49 demographic
- 10:18 p.m.: 505,000 viewers, 0.13 rating in the 18-49 demographic
- 10:41 p.m.: 549,000 viewers, 0.14 rating in the 18-49 demographic
- 11:07 p.m.: 791,000 viewers, 0.24 rating in the 18-49 demographic
- 11:18 p.m.: 460,000 viewers, 0.14 rating in the 18-49 demographic
Wilder knocked Breazeale out in the first round to retain his WBC heavyweight title and join an elite group of heavyweights to make nine world title defenses in one reign, including Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali. Also on the card was a WBC featherweight title bout between Gary Russell Jr. and Kiko Martinez, which Russell won by fifth-round TKO. The opening bout of the card saw Juan Heraldez and former world champion Argenis Mendez fight to a majority draw.
Showtime's next major boxing card is scheduled for June 29 at the NRG Arena in Houston, Texas headlined by the interim WBC middleweight title fight between Jermall Charlo and Brandon Adams.
