Weekend ratings.

Overnight ratings for sporting events on broadcast.
Source: Sports Business Daily and jayski.com

Basketball

• Overnight ratings increased for three of the four Elite Eight telecasts on CBS. On Saturday, Connecticut’s win over Missouri drew a 6.2, a 15% increase from last year — the largest of any of the four games. Later that night, Villanova’s close shave against Pittsburgh drew a 7.5, up 6%, and the highest rating in that window since ’05.
• On Sunday, Michigan State’s win over Louisville drew a 5.9, up 4% from last year, but the lowest overnight of the four games. Meanwhile, North Carolina’s thumping of Oklahoma drew a 7.7 late Sunday, down 17% from a 9.3 in ’09, and the lowest overnight in that window since ’03.
• After three straight weeks of declining ratings, ABC saw a big boost thanks to King James. The Cavaliers’ blowout win over the Mavericks drew a 2.2 overnight rating on ABC Sunday, up 22% from a 1.8 for Rockets/Spurs in ’08, and the highest overnight for an NBA game opposite the NCAA Tournament since 2003.

Golf

• Tiger Woods ruled a weekend usually dominated by college basketball. Woods’ comeback victory in the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational drew a 4.9/10 overnight rating on NBC Sunday, up 17% from a 4.2 in ’08, and the highest overnight rating for any non-major PGA Tour event since the 2007 Buick Invitational.
• Third round coverage on Saturday drew a 2.7/6, also up 17%. Overall, NBC averaged a 3.8 overnight for its two-day coverage of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, up 15% from a 3.3 last year.

Auto racing

• NASCAR was the third wheel on a packed sports weekend. The 4.1 for the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 was off 16% from a 4.9 in ’08, marking the sixth straight NASCAR race to see double-digit decline in its overnight ratings.

Other

• The 2.6 overnight for NBC’s coverage of the World Figure Skating Championships on Saturday night was up 100% from ABC’s afternoon coverage in ’08.