First, the results of last week’s predictions:
- College basketball on ESPN, Tennessee at Memphis. Prediction: 1.7. Final rating: 3.2. Tennessee and Memphis may not be marquee men’s college basketball programs, but the compelling #1 versus #2 match-up was a huge draw regardless. The game, which Tennessee won, was the most watched college basketball game in the 29 year history of ESPN.
- PGA Tour on NBC, WGC Accenture Match Play Championships, Championship Match. Prediction: 4.9. Final rating: 3.0. While Tiger Woods helped the Match Play Championship to a 43% increase in ratings, the 3.0 cannot compare to the 4.8 the same event drew the last time Woods won in ’04.
Ratings for NBA on ABC: Pistons/Suns and NASCAR on FOX: Auto Club 500 are currently unavailable.
This week’s predictions:
- NBA on ABC, Bulls/Cavaliers, 1:00 PM Sunday — Despite a huge trade between the two teams last week, and despite the presence of the #3 market in the country and one of the most popular players in the game, look for this Eastern Conference match-up to fall below a 2.0 rating. Prediction: 1.8.
- NBA on ABC, Mavericks/Lakers, 3:30 PM Sunday — The Lakers are a championship contender again, much to the delight of David Stern. With L.A. taking on Jason Kidd and the Mavericks, there is every possibility this big-market battle of marquee teams could crack the 3.0 barrier. Prediction: 3.1.
- AFL on ABC, Dallas/Georgia, 1:00 PM Saturday — Arena Football does not draw particularly well, especially now that the sport has gone from weekly exposure on NBC to only two appearances per year on ABC. Predicton: 0.9.
- NASCAR on FOX, UAW-Dodge 500, 3:30 PM Sunday — The first several races of the NASCAR season usually put up big numbers. Last year, the Las Vegas race drew a 6.3 rating, higher than the average of the ’07 NBA Finals. Expect slightly lower numbers this time around. Prediction: 6.0.
- NHL on NBC, Flyers/Rangers, 12:30 PM Sunday — Since the Winter Classic, no NHL broadcast on NBC has even drawn a 0.9 rating. While Philadelphia/New York is a decent big market match-up featuring two teams who would be in the playoffs if they started today, expect more of the same. Prediction: 0.8.
