First, the results of last week’s predictions.
Source: Sports Business Daily
| Sport | Game/Event | Net |
Prediction
|
Final rating
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBA | Cavaliers/Magic Game 6 | TNT |
6.7
|
5.2
|
| In the capper to a strong run of ratings for ESPN and TNT, Game 6 of the Magic/Cavaliers East Finals drew a 5.2 U.S. rating last Saturday night, up 21% from a 4.3 for Game 6 of the ’08 Celtics/Pistons East Finals, which aired on a Friday night on ESPN. | ||||
| NHL | Penguins/Red Wings Game 1 | NBC |
2.4
|
2.4
|
| The 2.4 for Penguins/Red Wings Game 1 was even with NBC’s first Stanley Cup Finals telecast last year (Game 3), and up 100% from last year’s Game 1 on Versus. | ||||
| NHL | Penguins/Red Wings Game 2 | NBC |
2.9
|
3.1
|
| In prime time on the most-watched night of the week, Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals drew a 3.1 rating on NBC, up 35% from the net’s second Stanley Cup Finals telecast in ’08 (Game 4), and up 138% from last year’s Game 2 on Versus. | ||||
| NASCAR | Autism Speaks 400 | FOX |
4.2
|
4.0
|
| An unsuccessful season for NASCAR on FOX came to an end on a familiar down note. The 4.0 for last Sunday’s Autism Speaks 400 was off 11% from a 4.5 for last year’s race, marking the 9th straight NASCAR telecast on FOX to see a double-digit decline in ratings. For the season, every single NASCAR telecast on FOX was down from last year. | ||||
| IRL | ABC Supply A.J. Foyt 225 | ABC |
0.7
|
0.7
|
| The 0.7 final rating for last Sunday’s IRL race on ABC was actually up from the 0.6 overnight. Still, the 0.7 final rating marks a 13% decline from last year’s 0.8. | ||||
This week’s predictions:
| Sport | Game/Event | Date/Time | Net |
Prediction
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBA | Magic/Lakers Game 2 | 8 PM Sunday | ABC |
7.7
|
| The NBA Finals got off to a slow start on ABC Thursday, as the 8.9 overnight for Game 1 was down 14% from last year. Still, much of that can be owed to the Lakers’ 25-point blowout victory, as the first two-hours of the game were down only slightly from last year’s levels. Final ratings for Game 1 will not be available until Monday, but the game should finish in the low-to-mid 7.0 range. Expect a closer Game 2, a slightly higher rating, but another decline. | ||||
| NHL | Penguins/Red Wings Game 5 | 8 PM Saturday | NBC |
3.0
|
| The Stanley Cup Finals returns to NBC tied at 2 games apiece. With Versus having aired Games 3 and 4 — likely killing some of NBC’s momentum from last week — and with Game 5 on a low-rated Saturday night, expect a decline from last year’s 3.8. | ||||
| Tennis | French Open, Federer/Soderling | 9 AM Sunday | NBC |
1.5
|
| This may not be the Federer/Nadal matchup NBC was hoping for, but the biggest star in tennis going for a record-tying 14th Grand Slam title should keep the numbers on par with last year’s 1.5. | ||||
| Horse racing | The Belmont Stakes | 5 PM Saturday | ABC |
5.9
|
| Intrigue surrounding whether jockey Calvin Borel could win all three Triple Crown races likely provided a jolt to ratings for The Belmont Stakes, but the numbers should be down significantly from last year’s 9.0, when Big Brown was going for the traditional Triple Crown. | ||||
| WNBA | Shock/Sparks | 2:30 PM Saturday | ABC |
0.5
|
| Saturday’s Shock/Sparks WNBA season opener had far less hype than last year’s comparable Sparks/Mercury game, which featured the debut of Candace Parker. Expect a big drop from last year’s relatively decent 0.8 rating. | ||||
| NASCAR | Pocono 500 | 2 PM Sunday | TNT |
3.3
|
| Look for TNT to begin its NASCAR coverage with the same kind of declines that plagued FOX. Last year’s Pocono 500 drew a 3.9 U.S. rating. | ||||
| PGA | The Memorial, Final Round | 2:30 PM Sunday | CBS |
3.0
|
| The presence of Tiger Woods should provide a needed boost to the ratings for The Memorial. Last year, final round coverage drew a paltry 1.6; the year before, final round coverage drew a 2.3. | ||||
