First, the results of last week’s predictions
| Sport | Game/Event | Net |
Prediction
|
Rating
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBA | Lakers/Magic | ABC |
2.0
|
2.1
|
| ABC drew a 2.1 final rating for last Sunday’s Lakers/Magic game, up 31% from Suns/Spurs last year (1.6), but even compared to Spurs/Suns in ’08 (2.1). | ||||
| NHL | Red Wings/Blackhawks | NBC |
1.0
|
1.0
|
| The Red Wings’ win over the Blackhawks last Sunday drew a 1.0 final rating on NBC, up 25% from both Bruins/Rangers last year and Penguins/Capitals in ’08 (0.8). | ||||
| NASCAR | Kobalt Tools 500 | FOX |
4.7
|
5.3
|
| The 5.3 final rating for last Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 marks a 4% decline from last year (5.5) and a 17% drop from 2008 (6.4). All four NASCAR races this season have had declines in ratings. | ||||
| Golf (M) | Honda Classic, Third Round | NBC |
1.4
|
1.2
|
| Honda Classic, Final Round |
1.6
|
1.6
|
||
| Ratings for the Honda Classic were even on Saturday and up 7% on Sunday. | ||||
| NCAA BB (M) | North Carolina/Duke | ESPN |
2.1
|
1.6
|
| Last Saturday’s clash between North Carolina and Duke drew a 1.6 U.S. rating on ESPN, up 33% from Louisville/West Virginia last year, but down 45% from last year’s comparable Duke/North Carolina game on CBS. | ||||
| NCAA BB (M) | Florida/Kentucky | CBS |
1.7
|
1.5
|
| Missouri Valley Conference Championship Game |
1.4
|
0.9
|
||
| Michigan/Michigan St. |
1.3
|
1.1
|
||
| Ratings for last Sunday’s college basketball tripleheader on CBS were up 7% (Fla/Kentucky), down 31% (MVC title game) and down 62% (Mich./Mich. St). | ||||
This week’s predictions:
| Sport | Game/Event | Date/Time | Net | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA BB (M) | NCAA Tournament Selection Show | 6 PM Sunday | CBS | 4.3 |
| Ratings for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show dropped 20% from 2004-08, before seeing a modest bump last year. Look for ratings to hold steady for this year’s show. | ||||
| NCAA BB (M) | Big Ten Championship Game (Minnesota/Ohio St.) | 3:30 PM Sunday | CBS | 2.3 |
| With no competition from other college basketball games, look for Sunday’s Big Ten Championship Game to draw solid numbers on CBS. Last year’s Purdue/Ohio St. final drew a 2.5 rating. | ||||
| NCAA BB (M) | Big East Championship Game (Georgetown/West. Virginia) | 9 PM Saturday | ESPN | 1.9 |
| Last year’s Big East title game between Louisville and Syracuse drew a 2.4 U.S. rating on ESPN and ranked as the network’s most-viewed Big East telecast in at least 19 years. Look for Saturday’s Georgetown/West Virginia title game to fall short of last year’s numbers. | ||||
| NCAA BB (M) | ACC Championship Game (Georgia Tech/Duke) | 1 PM Sunday | ESPN | 1.4 |
| Sunday’s Georgia Tech/Duke ACC Championship Game should have little trouble topping last year’s Florida St./Duke matchup, which drew a mere 1.2 U.S. rating. | ||||
| NCAA BB (M) | SEC Championship Game (Miss. St./Kentucky) | 1 PM Sunday | ABC | 1.7 |
| While the presence of Kentucky should boost the numbers for the SEC title game, the fact that the game is airing on ABC — which has not aired college basketball coverage this season — could hamper the numbers. Last year’s title game, which aired on CBS, drew a 1.9 rating. | ||||
| NBA | Celtics/Cavaliers | 3:30 PM Sunday | ABC | 1.8 |
| ABC’s last NBA telecast for three weeks features the two highest profile teams in the Eastern Conference. With much of the attention this weekend focused on college basketball — and with the Celtics playing mediocre basketball as of late — expect Sunday’s game to be the latest high-profile NBA matchup on ABC to draw fairly unimpressive numbers. | ||||
| NHL | Capitals/Blackhawks | 12:30 PM Sunday | NBC | 1.0 |
| The Capitals and Blackhawks have each set multiple ratings records locally this season, but will that translate to a larger national audience? Last year’s comparable Flyers/Rangers tilt drew a 0.8. | ||||
| Golf (M) | WGC-CA Championship, Third Round | 2 PM Saturday | NBC | 1.3 |
| WGC-CA Championship, Final Round | 3 PM Sunday | 1.7 | ||
| Expect big declines for the WGC-CA Championship on NBC. Last year’s tournament, which featured Tiger Woods, drew a 1.9 on Saturday and a hefty 3.4 on Sunday. The 2008 tournament, which also featured Woods, drew ratings of 1.9 and 3.0. This year’s numbers should be tiny by comparison. | ||||
