Overnight (metered market) ratings by sport.
Baseball.
Overnight ratings for “MLB on FOX: Regional action” are unavailable.
Football.
14.2/27: NFL on FOX, Bears/Chargers (4:00 PM Sunday).
13.6/22: Sunday Night Football on NBC, Giants/Cowboys (8:00 PM Sunday).
10.6/23: NFL on CBS, Regional action (1:00 PM Sunday).
8.4/18: NFL on FOX, Regional action (1:00 PM Sunday).
7.0/12: The OT on FOX (7:00 PM Sunday).
5.9/10: Football Night in America on NBC (7:00 PM Sunday).
5.0: College Football on ABC, Oregon/Michigan (3:30 PM Saturday).
3.2/8: The NFL Today on CBS (12:00 PM Sunday).
3.1/8: FOX NFL Sunday (12:00 PM Sunday).
3.1: College Football on ABC, Miami/Oklahoma (12:00 PM Saturday).
- FOX: Bears/Chargers fell 5% from the comparable Cowboys/Jaguars game last year. Early game coverage was also down 5%, from a 8.8 rating in ’06 to an 8.4 rating this year.
- NBC: A surprising, if not steep, drop for Sunday Night Football, as the 13.6 rating is off 8% from a 14.7 in 2006. While one would imagine that it would be difficult to live up to the number last year’s Manning Bowl posted, it should be pointed out that the two Giants/Cowboys games last year were the highest rated of the season on both broadcast (their Dec. 3 match-up drew a 17.8 rating to FOX) and cable (their Oct. 23 MNF battle set a then-cable record).
- CBS: Of all the NFL’s network partners, CBS had the best week. Not only did The NFL Today beat FOX NFL Sunday, but the network’s regionalized coverage was up 19% over last year.
- ABC: College football either saw great or declining ratings over the weekend, depending on one’s point of view. The 5.0 for Oregon/Michigan is up 61% from a 3.1 in the same timeslot last year. However, the 4.1 average rating for weekend coverage is down 32% from a 6.0 average last year. Keep in mind that last year, Ohio State/Texas was featured as the Saturday night game of the week, drawing an 8.8 rating.
Tennis.
4.2/8: U.S. Open on CBS, Men’s Final, Federer/Djokovic (4:30 PM Sunday).
2.6/5: U.S. Open on CBS, Women’s Final, Henin/Kuznetsova (8:00 PM Saturday).
2.4/6: U.S. Open on CBS, Women’s Semifinal, Henin/V. Williams (4:00 PM Friday).
2.1/5: U.S. Open on CBS, Men’s Semifinal, Federer/Davydenko (3:00 PM Saturday).
1.8/6: U.S. Open on CBS, Men’s Doubles Final (12:30 PM Friday).
1.8/5: U.S. Open on CBS, Men’s Semifinal, Djokovic/Ferrer (12:00 PM Saturday).
1.6/5: U.S. Open on CBS, Women’s Semifinal, Kuznetsova/Chakvetadze (2:00 PM Friday).
- No Sharapova, Serena, or Venus equals no audience for CBS. The 2.6 overnight for Justine Henin‘s victory over Svetlana Kuznetsova was off 19% from a 3.2 overnight for Maria Sharapova‘s victory over Henin last year. The 2.6 is the lowest overnight for the Women’s Final at the U.S. Open since the 2004 edition drew a 2.5; that year, Kuznetsova defeated Elena Dementieva to win her only Grand Slam title.
- Roger Federer‘s twelfth Grand Slam victory finished up 27% from the last Men’s Final that did not feature an American. However, the 4.2 overnight was down 18% from the 5.1 for Federer’s victory over Andy Roddick in 2006.
- Americans move the needle: the only U.S. Open telecast of the weekend to see an increase over last year’s number was the Women’s Semifinal between Henin and Venus Williams. The 2.4 for that Friday afternoon telecast was up 20% from a 2.0 for Sharapova/Mauresmo last year.
Auto racing.
4.1: NASCAR on ABC, Chevy Rock & Roll 400 (7:30 PM Saturday).
3.1: NASCAR Countdown on ABC (7:00 PM Saturday).
1.0: IRL on ABC, Peak Antifreeze 300 (4:00 PM Sunday).
- The finale of the Indy Racing League season saw a hefty 25% increase over last year’s number. Still, the 1.0 rating was not even a quarter of the audience that watched the NASCAR race the previous night, and the race was the second-lowest rated sporting event of the weekend on broadcast.
Golf.
3.2/6: PGA Tour on NBC, BMW Championship, Final Round (2:00 PM Sunday).
2.6/6: PGA Tour on NBC, BMW Championship, Third round (2:00 PM Saturday).
0.4: Walker Cup Match on ABC, Final Round (2:00 PM Sunday).
- Ratings for tournaments in the FedEx Cup may be down year-to-year, but the numbers are a significant improvement over the ratings for most of the summer’s PGA Tour events.
Other.
1.1/3: Gymnastics on NBC, Visa Championships (12:30 PM Sunday).
- The 1.1 rating for the Visa Championships was up 22% from a 0.9 overnight last year.
