Weekend ratings predictions.

Posted by | 08/30/2009 at 3:56 am


First, the results of last week’s predictions.
Source: Sports Business Daily















Sport Game/Event Net
Prediction
Final rating
MLB Yankees/Red Sox or Cubs/Dodgers FOX
2.7
2.3
Last Saturday’s Yankees/Red Sox tilt on FOX drew a 2.3/6 final rating, up 53% from comparable coverage last year, but tied as the lowest rating for a Yankees/Red Sox game on FOX in the past three years.
MLB Yankees/Red Sox ESPN
3.2
3.0
ESPN drew a 3.0 U.S. rating for last Sunday night’s Yankees/Red Sox game, tied with two other Yankees/Red Sox games as the highest rated MLB telecasts of the season — on broadcast or cable.
NASCAR Sharpie 500 ESPN
3.2
3.3
The 3.3 U.S. rating for last Saturday’s Sharpie 500 was up 10% from last year’s race, marking only the third time in 2009 that a NASCAR race has had an increase in ratings.
Golf Wyndham Championship CBS
1.1
1.6
For the fourth straight week, PGA Tour coverage saw a massive increase in ratings. The 1.6 rating for the final round of the Wyndham Championship marked a 78% rise in ratings over last year’s 0.9.
Track & Field World Track & Field Championships NBC
1.1
1.1
1.2
1.2
Coverage of the World Track & Field Championships was up 10% on Saturday and down 8% on Sunday.

This week’s predictions:











Sport Game/Event Date/Time Net
Prediction
NFL Bears/Broncos 8 PM Sunday NBC
4.6
Ratings have been up substantially for NFL preseason games this year. With Jay Cutler‘s return to Denver as a the major storyline for Sunday’s Bears/Broncos tilt, expect NBC to draw the second-biggest rating of the preseason.
LLWS California/Chinese Taipei 3:30 PM Sunday ABC
2.8
Ratings are way up for the Little League World Series, as ABC’s first two games were up 67% from last year. Expect another big jump for Sunday’s championship game. Last year’s game drew a 2.1 rating, down from a 3.3 in ’07.
Golf The Barclays, Final Round 2 PM Sunday CBS
3.6
Tiger Woods‘ presence near the top of the leaderboard should vault ratings for The Barclays into the relative stratosphere. Last year’s final round drew a paltry 1.7, down from a 2.1 in ’07.
Tennis Pilot Pen Tennis, Wozniacki/Vesnina 1 PM Saturday CBS
0.4
Last year’s horribly low 0.3/1 rating set the bar astoundingly low for the women’s final of the Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament. With that in mind, expect an increase for this year’s final.