First, the results of last week’s predictions.
| Sport | Game/Event | Net |
Prediction
|
Final rating
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFL | Eagles/Giants | NBC |
11.7
|
12.7
|
| The 12.7 for last Sunday night’s Eagles/Giants game marks a 57% increase over last year’s comparable Washington/Ravens matchup (8.1). | ||||
| NFL | Chargers/Cowboys | CBS |
14.9
|
14.7
|
| Last Sunday’s NFL national window (Chargers/Cowboys) drew a 14.7 final rating on CBS, off 6% from last year’s comparable window, but the highest rating of the season for an NFL telecast on CBS. | ||||
| NFL | Bengals/Vikings (or other regional action) | CBS |
9.9
|
9.7
|
| The first game of last week’s NFL doubleheader on CBS (mostly Bengals/Vikings) drew a 9.7 final rating — up 1% from a 9.6 for last year’s comparable telecast on FOX. | ||||
| NFL | Saints/Falcons (or other regional action) | FOX |
8.7
|
10.6
|
| Sunday’s NFL singleheader (mostly Saints/Falcons) drew a 10.6 final rating on FOX last week, off 1% from a 10.7 for last year’s singleheader on CBS. | ||||
| College football | Heisman Trophy Presentation | ESPN |
2.7
|
3.5
|
| The 3.5 U.S. rating for last week’s Heisman Trophy Presentation was up 30% from last year (2.7). | ||||
| College football | Army/Navy | CBS |
2.3
|
3.7
|
| Last week’s Army/Navy game drew a 3.7 final rating on CBS, up 85% from a 2.0 last year, and the highest rating for the Army/Navy game since ’99. | ||||
| College basketball | Kentucky/Indiana | CBS |
1.4
|
1.4
|
| The 1.4 final rating for Kentucky/Indiana was off 7% from a 1.5 for North Carolina/Kentucky the previous week. Ratings for last year’s comparable telecast were not available. | ||||
This week’s predictions:
| Sport | Game/Event | Date/Time | Net | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFL | Cowboys/Saints | 8 PM Saturday | NFLN |
4.4
|
| The Cowboys move the needle more than any other team in football. Look for their matchup against the undefeated Saints to draw big numbers on Saturday night. Last year’s lone Saturday night game on NFL Network (Ravens/Cowboys in Week 16) drew a 3.4 U.S. rating. NFL Network’s highest rated game ever was Cowboys/Packers in ’07 (5.6 U.S. rating). | ||||
| NFL | Vikings/Panthers | 8:15 PM Sunday | NBC |
10.8
|
| Brett Favre‘s drawing power will be put to the test on Sunday night, when the Vikings take on the 5-8 Panthers. Expect a sizable decline in ratings compared to last year’s Week 15 Sunday nighter — a clash between the Cowboys and Giants (13.7 rating). | ||||
| NFL | Packers/Steelers (or other regional action) | 4:15 PM Sunday | FOX |
15.5
|
| Thanks to inclement weather, Sunday’s NFL national window on FOX features four games. Most of the country gets a battle between two of the NFL’s marquee franchises — the Packers and Steelers. With two games with playoff implications (49ers/Eagles and Bears/Ravens) added to the schedule and most of the East stuck indoors due to bad weather, expect a solid boost in the ratings compared to last year’s Week 15 national window, which featured Chargers/Steelers on CBS (14.7). | ||||
| NFL | Falcons/Jets (or Cardinals/Lions) | 1 PM Sunday | FOX |
8.6
|
| The early window on FOX features just two games, with most of the country getting the 6-7 Falcons against the 7-6 Jets. Look for ratings to improve over a 7.9 for last year’s comparable window (mostly Bills/Jets, CBS). | ||||
| NFL | Bengals/Chargers (or other regional action) | 1 PM Sunday | CBS |
10.3
|
| Sunday’s NFL singleheader on CBS features a stellar matchup between the 9-4 Bengals and 10-3 Chargers. Others get the always high-profile Patriots against the Bills. Expect a strong performance in the ratings. | ||||
| NBA | Celtics/Magic | 2:30 PM Dec. 25 | ABC |
3.4
|
| The NBA returns to ABC on Christmas Day with a battle of the last two Eastern Conference Champions. Last year’s Magic/Celtics series drew strong numbers, including a 5.1 rating for Game 7. However, the teams’ first meeting of the regular season drew a pedestrian 1.2 rating on ESPN. Last year’s comparable Spurs/Suns game drew a 3.2 rating. | ||||
| NBA | Cavaliers/Lakers | 5 PM Dec. 25 | ABC |
5.6
|
| So far this season, the ten most viewed NBA games have involved either the Cavaliers or Lakers. The teams, who seemed to be on a collision course for a highly rated NBA Finals last June, boast the two most recognizable players in the league (LeBron James and Kobe Bryant). When they played each other on ABC in February, the game drew a strong 3.8 rating — opposite the NFL Pro Bowl. With no competition, and on the NBA’s biggest regular season stage, look for impressive numbers. Last year’s Celtics/Lakers game drew a 5.3 rating. | ||||
| NFL | Chargers/Titans | 7:30 PM Dec. 25 | NFLN |
2.6
|
| Expect NFL Network’s Chargers/Titans game to top its NBA competition (Clippers/Suns) head-to-head, though the numbers will not come close to the last Christmas Day NFL game — a Jets/Dolphins Monday night game on ESPN (6.5). | ||||
| College football | Emerald Bowl (Boston College/USC) | 8:30 PM Dec. 26 | ESPN |
4.3
|
| Last year’s Miami/California Emerald Bowl drew an impressive 4.0 U.S. rating on ESPN. With USC playing in the game this year, look for ratings to rise even higher. | ||||
| NFL | Cowboys/Washington | 8:15 PM Dec. 27 | NBC |
12.1
|
| Washington may not be very good this season, but expect a solid tune-in for their Sunday night battle against the archrival Cowboys. Last season’s Week 16 Sunday nighter (Panthers/Giants) drew an 11.5. | ||||
| NFL | Jets/Colts or Broncos/Eagles | 4:15 PM Dec. 27 | CBS |
14.6
|
| Fresh off of a win against the Jaguars on Thursday, the Colts enter their Week 16 battle against the Jets undefeated. While their run for perfection has not attracted as much attention as the Patriots’ run two years ago, expect their presence to provide a big increase in ratings compared to last year’s Week 16 national window (mostly Falcons/Vikings, FOX), which drew an 11.8 rating. | ||||
| NFL | Vikings/Bears | 8:30 PM Dec. 28 | ESPN |
8.8
|
| Brett Favre has been a major attraction so far this season, as the Vikings account for the highest rated, most-viewed games of the season on both broadcast and cable (both games were against the Packers). While the Vikings’ opponent (the Bears) has been eliminated from playoff contention, expect a modest bump in the ratings for ESPN’s last Monday night game of the season. Last year’s comparable Packers/Bears game drew an 8.4. | ||||
| College football | Capital One Bowl (Penn St./LSU) | 1 PM Jan. 1 | ABC |
7.1
|
| The Capital One Bowl has been typically the highest rated non-BCS bowl. Look for that to continue for this year’s matchup between Penn St. and LSU. Last year’s Michigan St./Georgia game drew a 6.4. | ||||
| College football | Gator Bowl (West Virginia/Florida St.) | 1 PM Jan. 1 | CBS |
4.3
|
| Bobby Bowden‘s final game as Florida St. coach should attract some extra eyeballs to the Gator Bowl this year. Last year’s Gator Bowl (Nebraska/Clemson) drew a strong 4.1 rating | ||||
| College football | Rose Bowl (Oregon/Ohio St.) | 5 PM Jan. 1 | ABC |
11.0
|
| Ohio St. is a fairly big draw, but their Rose Bowl matchup against Oregon just does not have the same cachet as last year’s USC/Penn St. matchup. Look for a modest decline in ratings from last year’s 11.7. | ||||
| College football | Sugar Bowl (Florida/Cincinnati) | 8:30 PM Jan. 1 | FOX |
10.3
|
| Expect the Sugar Bowl, featuring Tim Tebow’s final game at Florida, to draw its highest rating since ’04 — when the game served as the National Championship Game. Last year’s Utah/Alabama tilt drew a 7.8 rating. | ||||
| NHL | Flyers/Bruins (from Fenway Park) | 1 PM Jan. 1 | NBC |
2.7
|
| This year’s Winter Classic has arguably less star power than the previous two games (featuring the Penguins in ’08 and the Red Wings in ’09). However, the venue — Boston’s Fenway Park — should more than make up for that. Last year’s Winter Classic, from Wrigley Field, drew a 2.5 rating. | ||||
