Overnight ratings for sporting events on broadcast.
Football.
42.1/65: Super Bowl XLIII on NBC, Steelers/Cardinals (6:30 PM Sunday)
26.6/42: Super Bowl XLIII on NBC, Postgame Show (10:15 PM Sunday)
10.5: Super Bowl XLIII on NBC, Pre-game Show (1 PM Sunday)
3.3/8: The Road to the Super Bowl on NBC (12 PM Sunday)
- The 42.1 overnight for the Steelers’ win over the Cardinals on Sunday was off 6% from last year’s 44.7 for Super Bowl XLII between the Giants and Patriots, but was on par with the overnights for Super Bowl XLI and Super Bowl XL.
- Bigger not better? The 10.5 for NBC’s Super Bowl Pre-Game Show was down 13% from last year’s pre-game on FOX.
Basketball.
2.3/5: NBA on ABC, Cavaliers/Pistons (2:30 PM Sunday)
1.3/3: College basketball on ABC, regional (3:30 PM Saturday)
0.8/2: College basketball on CBS, regional (1 PM Saturday)
- The 2.3 overnight for the Cavaliers’ win over the Pistons on Sunday was up 15% from a 2.0 for Mavericks/Pistons in ’07, and is the highest overnight for an NBA game on Super Bowl Sunday in four years.
- On the college side, CBS saw a whopping decline for its lone game of the weekend. Regional coverage at 1 PM Saturday drew a 0.8 overnight rating, down 43% from a 1.4 for coverage in the same timeslot a year ago. ABC’s lone game on Saturday drew a 1.3, off 13% from a 1.5 in ’08.
Golf.
1.5/3: PGA on CBS, FBR Open, Final Round (3 PM Sunday)
1.4/3: PGA on CBS, FBR Open, Third Round (3 PM Saturday)
- The PGA Tour got off to a horrible start on broadcast over the weekend. Continuing the trend of poor ratings post-Tiger Woods‘ injury, the FBR Open saw a 30% decline for third round coverage on Saturday, and a 42% decline for final round coverage on Sunday. Overall, CBS averaged a 1.5 overnight for its two-day coverage of the FBR Open, off 35% from a 2.3 in ’08.
Other.
1.2/3: U.S. Figure Skating Exhibition on NBC (2:30 PM Saturday)
1.1/2: PBR on NBC, Copenhagen Bull Riding Invitational (4:30 PM Saturday)
0.9/2: Track & Field on NBC, Millrose Games (1:30 PM Saturday)
0.6/1: Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series on CBS, San Francisco (2 PM Sunday)
- Coming off of lower ratings for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships last week, NBC saw another decline for figure skating this weekend. The 1.2 overnight for Saturday’s U.S. Figure Skating Exhibition was off 29% from a 1.7 for the same event in a later timeslot last year.
- Meanwhile, the 0.9 overnight for the Millrose Games earlier on Saturday was down 25% from a 1.2 for the same event in a later timeslot in ’08.
- The 0.6 for the AMA Supercross Series on CBS was off 33% from a 0.9 for comparable coverage last year.
