First, the results of last week’s predictions:
- MLB on FOX, Yankees/Giants. Prediction: 3.4. Final rating: 2.8. Another strong rating for a Yankees game on FOX, as the star-studded New York team continues to carry the network’s ratings.
- IRL on ABC, Ethanol Indycar 250. Prediction: 1.3. Final rating: 1.1. While this IRL race nearly doubled the competing Champ Car World Series race on CBS (0.6), the paltry 1.1 rating was trounced by the NASCAR race on TNT later that day.
- NASCAR on TNT, Toyota/Save Mart 350. Prediction: 3.9. Final rating: 4.0. NASCAR continues to draw strong numbers on cable; NASCAR races join Monday Night Football, the NBA All Star Game and Conference Finals, and baseball’s Division Series and League Championship Series as the strongest sports properties on cable.
Ratings for Sunday Night Baseball: Tigers/Braves are currently unavailable.
This week’s predictions:
- MLB on FOX, Regional action, 3:30 PM Saturday — Three relatively unappealing games (Twins/Tigers, Mets/Phillies and Brewers/Cubs) should result in the lowest ratings of the season for baseball on FOX. Prediction: 1.7.
- NASCAR on TNT, Lenox Industrial Tools 300, 2:30 PM Sunday — Expect NASCAR to continue to pull in strong ratings for TNT. Prediction: 3.2.
- Wimbledon on NBC, Early round coverage, 12:00 PM Saturday — With several prominent American names still playing, expect at least a slight increase from the 1.3 rating for comparable coverage last year. Prediction: 1.4.
- PGA Tour on CBS, Buick Open, 3:00 PM Saturday and Sunday — No Tiger Woods equals no interest. Last year on ABC, the event drew a 0.9 rating on Saturday and a 1.0 on Sunday. Expect more of the same this year. Prediction: 0.7 and 1.2.
