Weekend ratings predictions

First, the results of last week’s predictions.
Source: Sports Business Daily

Sport	Game/Event	Net	Prediction	Final rating
MLB	Cardinals/Dodgers Game 3	TBS	3.2	2.6
The Dodgers’ series-clinching win over the Cardinals last Saturday drew a 2.6 U.S. rating, off 10% from a 2.9 for Phillies/Brewers Game 3 last year.
MLB	Angels/Red Sox Game 3	TBS	2.4	2.1
The 2.1 U.S. rating for last Sunday’s clincher between the Angels and Red Sox was up 33% from a 1.5 for Phillies/Brewers Game 4 in a similar timeslot last year.
MLB	Yankees/Twins Game 3	TBS	4.8	4.1
The deciding Game 3 of the Yankees/Twins series drew a 4.1 U.S. rating on TBS last Sunday night, up 5% from a 3.9 for Angels/Red Sox Game 3 last year, but down 24% from a 5.4 for Indians/Yankees Game 3 in ’07.
MLB	Phillies/Rockies Game 3	TBS	3.3	2.7
The penultimate game of the Phillies/Rockies series drew a 2.7 U.S. rating on TBS late Sunday night. There was no game in the comparable timeslot last year.
NFL	Colts/Titans	NBC	9.4	9.7
For the first time this season, ratings for Sunday Night Football slipped under a 10.0. Still, the 9.7 for the Colts’ blowout of the Titans was up 10% from an 8.8 for Steelers/Jaguars in Week 5 last year.
NFL	Patriots/Broncos or other regional action	CBS	14.3	12.7
Regional NFL coverage featuring the Broncos’ win over the Patriots drew a 12.7 rating on CBS last Sunday, up a tick from a 12.6 for Bengals/Cowboys last year.
NFL	Raiders/Giants or other regional action	CBS	7.8	6.7
The first game of last week’s NFL doubleheader on CBS drew a 6.7 rating, the lowest NFL rating of the season on any network.
NFL	Cowboys/Chiefs or other regional action	FOX	9.2	9.5
FOX drew a 9.5 rating for singleheader NFL coverage last week.
College football	Florida/LSU	CBS	5.0	6.1
CBS drew a 6.1 rating for last week’s primetime Florida/LSU game, up 61% from a 3.8 for the same matchup in primetime last year.
College football	Alabama/Mississippi	CBS	2.9	3.1
The first game of last week’s college football doubleheader on CBS drew a solid 3.1 rating.
College football	Michigan/Iowa	ABC	3.6	2.8
Opposite Florida/LSU, Michigan/Iowa on ABC drew a mere 2.8 rating last week, the lowest rating for Saturday Night Football since Georgia/Arizona State drew a 2.7 last season.
College football	Wisconsin/Ohio State or other regional action	ABC	3.3	n/a
Golf	Presidents Cup (Sunday)	NBC	2.6	2.4
The 2.4 rating for coverage of The Presidents Cup last Sunday was up 4% from a 2.3 in ’07, but off 20% from a 3.0 in ’05.
NASCAR	Pepsi 500	ABC	3.3	3.6
ABC drew a 3.6 rating for the Pepsi 500 on Sunday, the highest rating for a NASCAR race since the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard in July.
NBA	Warriors/Suns	TNT	0.7	n/a

This week’s predictions:

Sport	Game/Event	Date/Time	Net	Prediction
MLB	Angels/Yankees Game 2	7:30 PM Saturday	FOX	6.2
Look for FOX to draw solid numbers for Game 2 of the ALCS on Saturday night — assuming the game is completed. Last year’s Red Sox/Rays Game 2 — also on a Saturday night — drew a 4.1 rating on TBS; Indians/Red Sox Game 2 in ’07 drew a 5.7 on FOX. The last time the Yankees played an LCS game on a Saturday night (2004), their 19-8 Game 3 win over the Red Sox drew a 7.8.
MLB	Dodgers/Phillies Game 3	8 PM Sunday	TBS	4.3
The Dodgers/Phillies NLCS shifts to Philadelphia on Sunday night. Last year’s Phillies/Dodgers Game 3 — also on a Sunday night — drew a 5.6 rating on FOX; Diamondbacks/Rockies Game 3 drew a 3.2 in ’07 on TBS. Despite competition from Sunday Night Football on NBC, look for TBS to draw good numbers.
NFL	Bears/Falcons	8:15 PM Sunday	NBC	10.0
This battle of 3-1 teams from Top 10 television markets should give NBC strong ratings on Sunday night. While the Falcons may be under the radar despite making the playoffs last year, the Bears and QB Jay Cutler should pick up the slack in marquee appeal. Last year’s comparable Patriots/Chargers game drew a relatively low 8.2.
NFL	Titans/Patriots or Bills/Jets	4:15 PM Sunday	CBS	11.3
After sending NBC to a Sunday night season low last week, do not expect the winless Titans to attract a particularly impressive audience on Sunday — even against the Patriots. So far this season, the lowest rated NFL game in the 4:15 PM window was Steelers/Bengals in Week 3 (10.9).
NFL	Ravens/Vikings or other regional action	1 PM Sunday	CBS	8.2
Regional NFL action featuring Brett Favre and the undefeated Vikings against the 3-2 Ravens should draw decent enough numbers on CBS Sunday afternoon.
NFL	Giants/Saints or other regional action	1 PM Sunday	FOX	11.0
Look for Sunday’s NFL singleheader on FOX, featuring a battle of undefeated teams, to draw strong numbers. So far this season, the highest rating for the NFL singleheader was an 11.9 for regional coverage featuring Falcons/Patriots in Week 3.
College football	Oklahoma/Texas	12 PM Saturday	ABC	5.1
Despite the Noon ET start time, expect impressive numbers for Saturday’s rivalry game between #20 Oklahoma and #3 Texas. Last year, with Oklahoma ranked #1 and Texas #5, the game drew a 5.4.
College football	Minnesota/Penn St. or othe regional action	3:30 PM Saturday	ABC	4.5
With Oklahoma/Texas as a lead-in, expect good numbers for regional college football coverage on ABC Saturday. Last year, comparable coverage drew a 4.6.
College football	USC/Notre Dame	3:30 PM Saturday	NBC	3.6
In recent years, this rivalry has lost much of its drawing power. But with both USC and Notre Dame ranked in the Top 25, look for ratings to improve dramatically a 2.1 last year (on ESPN) and a 1.7 in ’07.
College football	Arkansas/Florida	3:30 PM Saturday	CBS	3.0
Coming off a strong 6.1 rating for their primetime tilt against LSU, look for Florida to attract a solid audience for Saturday’s game against Arkansas.
College football	South Carolina/Alabama	7:45 PM Saturday	ESPN	3.0
With Saturday Night Football taking the week off due to NASCAR, ESPN gets the Saturday night college football spotlight to itself. Look for South Carolina’s battle against #2 Alabama to give ESPN a big boost in ratings over last year’s 1.5 for Penn State/Wisconsin.
NASCAR	Bank of America 500	7:25 PM Saturday	ABC	3.6
NASCAR returns to primetime, but with formidable competition from the MLB postseason. NASCAR’s last foray onto Saturday night drew a mere 3.5 rating; do not expect much of an improvement. Last year’s Bank of America 500 drew a 3.8.

Jon Lewis has been covering the sports media industry on a daily basis since 2006 as the founder and main writer of Sports Media Watch. You can contact him here or on the social media websites X (Twitter) or Bluesky.