Overnight (metered market) ratings by timeslot:
12:00 PM – 3:00 PM Sunday.
4.1/10: NASCAR on FOX, Jim Stewart 400
3.0: NBA Playoffs on ABC, Nets at Cavaliers Game 1
1.6: NBA Countdown on ABC
1.3/3: Poker on NBC
- A low overnight for a Sunday afternoon NASCAR race. The race was supposed to occur on Saturday night, but was rained out. The early finish for the race (4:45 PM) could be a factor in the dismal number.
- The New Jersey Nets are a terrible television draw. The 3.0 for Nets/Cavaliers is the second lowest overnight of the postseason for ABC (only Heat/Bulls Game 1 drew a worse number) and is 19% lower than the 3.7 for Mavs/Spurs last year. ABC needs to drop the 1:00 PM starts for next season.
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM Sunday.
4.5: NBA Playoffs on ABC, Spurs at Suns Game 1
3.8/9: PGA Tour on CBS, Wachovia Championship Final Round
1.4/3: Stanley Cup Playoffs on NBC, Sabres/Rangers Game 6
- For the first time in a very long time, the NBA beats NASCAR and the PGA Tour on a Sunday afternoon. The 4.5 for Spurs/Suns is the highest overnight of the playoffs (and the highest overnight of the day), and only the second time this year that a playoff game on ABC has had a higher overnight than the comparable game last year. Spurs/Suns was up 5% from the comparable Cavaliers/Pistons game last year.
- The 1.4 rating for Sabres/Rangers tied with Saturday’s Sharks/Red Wings game as the highest rated overnight so far of the postseason for NBC. A very good weekend for hockey on U.S. network television. Can the NHL keep it going, even after the Rangers have been eliminated?
Saturday ratings.
8.3/19: Kentucky Derby on NBC
3.1/6: NASCAR on FOX, Jim Stewart 400 (rain delay coverage)
2.5/6: MLB on FOX, Regional action
2.5/5: Barbaro: A Nation’s Horse
2.4/6: PGA Tour on CBS, Wachovia Championship Third Round
1.4/4: Stanley Cup Playoffs on NBC, Sharks/Red Wings Game 5
- Last year, several media outlets made a big deal about the fact that a NASCAR rain delay outperformed NBA games on two occasions (once in the regular season, and once in the playoffs). Perhaps in their zeal to pound some more nails into the NBA ratings coffin, the pundits overlooked this basic fact — NASCAR, rain delays or no, can get ratings better than most other sporting events. The 3.1 for the rained out Jim Stewart 400 on Saturday bested every other sporting event that day except for the Kentucky Derby.
- The Kentucky Derby did extremely well, for an event with little buzz accompanying it. The event was “up 12% from last year and [tied] ?01, ?02 and ?04 as the highest overnight for the event since ?92.”
- Without the Yankees and Red Sox facing off, baseball on FOX falls back to earth.
- Sharks/Red Wings draws a relatively big rating for a Saturday afternoon; could this be a good sign for a potential Red Wings/Sabres Stanley Cup Final?
