First, the results of last week’s predictions.
Source: Sports Business Daily
| Sport | Game/Event | Net |
Prediction
|
Final rating
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MLB | Yankees/Phillies G3 | FOX |
9.3
|
9.1
|
| Saturday’s rain-delayed Game 3 of the World Series drew a 9.1 rating, up 49% from a 6.1 for Rays/Phillies Game 3 last year, but the 5th-lowest rated World Series game since at least 1972. | ||||
| MLB | Yankees/Phillies G4 | FOX |
13.0
|
13.5
|
| The 13.5 rating for Sunday’s Game 4 of the World Series was up 45% from a 9.3 last year, and marked the highest rating for any World Series game since 2004. | ||||
| NFL | Vikings/Packers (or other regional action) | FOX |
22.1
|
17.4
|
| Brett Favre‘s homecoming drew a 17.4 rating on FOX last Sunday, up 26% from last year’s comparable Giants/Steelers game, and the highest rated regular season NFL telecast since 2007. | ||||
| NFL | Giants/Eagles (or other regional action) | FOX |
12.3
|
9.7
|
| The first game of last Sunday’s NFL doubleheader on FOX drew a 9.7 rating, up 10% from an 8.8 for comparable coverage last year. | ||||
| NFL | Jets/Dolphins (or other regional action) | CBS |
6.1
|
8.4
|
| CBS drew an 8.4 for last Sunday’s singleheader, up 12% from last year’s comparable telecast. | ||||
| College football | USC/Oregon or Texas/Oklahoma St. | ABC |
4.9
|
4.2
|
| Saturday Night Football — featuring either USC/Oregon or Texas/Oklahoma St. — drew a 4.2 rating on ABC last week, down 34% from a 6.4 for Ohio St./Penn St. last year. | ||||
| College football | Washington St./Notre Dame | NBC |
2.7
|
1.4
|
| The 1.4 for last Saturday’s primetime Washington St./Notre Dame tilt on NBC was the second-lowest of the season for a Notre Dame telecast on the network, ahead of only a 1.3 for Nevada/Notre Dame in September. | ||||
| College football | Georgia/Florida | CBS |
4.4
|
4.4
|
| Last Saturday’s Georgia/Florida matchup drew a 4.4 rating, up 47% from a 3.0 for Georgia/LSU last year, and the second-highest rated college football game of the season on CBS. | ||||
| College football | Miami/Wake Forest (or other regional action) | ABC |
3.2
|
3.2
|
| Regional college football action featuring Miami/Wake Forest drew a 3.2 rating on ABC last week, down 38% from a 5.1 for comparable coverage last year. | ||||
| College football | South Carolina/Tennessee | ESPN |
2.1
|
1.5
|
| On a crowded Saturday night in sports, ESPN’s South Carolina/Tennessee telecast drew a 1.5 U.S. rating, off 38% from a 2.4 for last year’s comaprable Alabama/Tennessee game | ||||
| NASCAR | Amp Energy 500 | ABC |
4.2
|
4.2
|
| The 4.2 for last Sunday’s Amp Energy 500 on ABC was off 9% from a 4.6 last year, and marks the lowest rating for the race since ’00. | ||||
This week’s predictions:
| Sport | Game/Event | Date/Time | Net |
Prediction
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFL | Cowboys/Eagles | 8 PM Sunday | NBC |
12.6
|
| Sunday Night Football returns after a one-week hiatus. Expect this week’s Cowboys/Eagles battle to draw the highest rating for a Sunday night game since the Cowboys’ last appearance — Week 2 against the Giants (15.1). Patriots/Colts in Week 9 last year drew a 10.6. | ||||
| NFL | Chargers/Giants (or other regional action) | 4:15 PM Sunday | CBS |
12.8
|
| Eli Manning and Phillip Rivers face off for the first time since they were traded for each other during the ’04 NFL Draft. While that angle may not be as attractive as, say, Brett Favre‘s return to Lambeau Field last week, look for CBS to draw solid numbers regardless. Last year’s comparable Cowboys/Giants game drew a 14.3 on FOX. | ||||
| NFL | Dolphins/Patriots (or other regional action) | 1 PM Sunday | CBS |
9.0
|
| The first game of Sunday’s doubleheader on CBS features a trio of crucial division matchups — Dolphins/Patriots (which has extra hype thanks to Joey Porter‘s mouth), Ravens/Bengals and Texans/Colts. Expect good numbers. Last year’s comparable window on FOX drew an 8.6. | ||||
| NFL | Cardinals/Bears (or other regional action) | 1 PM Sunday | FOX |
8.5
|
| Sunday’s singleheader on FOX features some of the worst teams in the NFL — Washington, the Lions and the Buccaneers. Most of the country gets Cardinals/Bears, which pits two 4-3 teams. Still, with FOX having drawn strong numbers throughout the NFL season, expect decent numbers. Last year’s Week 9 singleheader on CBS drew an 8.0. | ||||
| College football | Ohio St./Penn St. (or other regional action) | 3:30 PM Saturday | ABC |
4.3
|
| Saturday’s early college football window on ABC features a Top 25 battle of Big Ten rivals — Ohio State against Penn State. Last year’s primetime meeting between the teams on ABC drew a massive 6.4 rating. | ||||
| College football | Connecticut/Cincinnati (or other regional action) | 8 PM Saturday | ABC |
3.9
|
| Connecticut/Cincinnati may not seem like ‘ready for primetime’ battle, but with Cincinnati in the Top 5, perhaps viewers will tune in out of curiosity. Still, the numbers will fall far short of the 7.5 for Texas/Texas Tech on the comparable night last year. | ||||
| College football | LSU/Alabama | 3:30 PM Saturday | CBS |
3.7
|
| The 2009 season has been a good one for the SEC on CBS so far. Look for Saturday’s LSU/Alabama battle to draw strong numbers. Last year, Georgia/Florida drew a 3.8. | ||||
| College football | Navy/Notre Dame | 2:30 PM Saturday | NBC |
2.1
|
| After an embarrassing 1.4 in primetime last week, look for Notre Dame to rebound in the ratings on Saturday. Last year’s Notre Dame/Navy game drew a 1.9 on CBS; the last time the teams played on NBC, the game drew a 2.3. | ||||
| College football | Florida St./Clemson | 7:45 PM Saturday | ESPN |
2.0
|
| Despite being steeped in mediocrity over the last few seasons, Florida State still remains a decent draw. Expect good enough numbers for Saturday’s FSU tilt against Clemson. Last year, Wisconsin/Michigan State drew a 1.8. | ||||
| MMA | Strikeforce | 9 PM Saturday | CBS |
2.6
|
| Mixed martial arts returns to CBS on Saturday night. Last year, three Saturday night Elite XC telecasts drew ratings of 3.0, 1.7 and 2.7. Expect similar numbers for Saturday’s telecast. | ||||
| NASCAR | Dickies 500 | 3:15 PM Sunday | ABC |
3.3
|
| Another week, another drop in NASCAR ratings? Signs point to yes. Last year’s race drew a 3.7 rating. | ||||
| Horse | Breeders’ Cup World Championships | 1:30 PM Saturday | ABC |
1.1
|
| The Breeders’ Cup returns to ABC on Saturday. Will ratings improve from last year’s 1.0? | ||||
