First, the results of last week’s predictions
| Sport | Game/Event | Net |
Prediction
|
Rating
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBA | Magic/Hawks Game 3 | ESPN |
1.8
|
1.4
|
| The second-to-last game of the Magic/Hawks series drew a 1.4 U.S. rating on ESPN last Saturday afternoon, down 20% from Nuggets/Mavericks Game 3 last year (2.0). | ||||
| NBA | Lakers/Jazz Game 3 | ABC |
3.7
|
3.7
|
| ABC drew a 3.7 final rating for last Saturday’s primetime Lakers/Jazz game, up 16% from both Cavaliers/Hawks Game 3 last year (3.2) and Celtics/Cavaliers Game 3 in ’08 (3.2). | ||||
| NBA | Cavaliers/Celtics Game 4 | ABC |
3.6
|
4.2
|
| The first of three straight victories for the Celtics over the Cavaliers drew a 4.2 final rating on ABC last Sunday afternoon, up 31% from last year’s Lakers/Rockets Game 4 (3.2) and up 2% from Lakers/Jazz Game 4 in ’08 (4.1). | ||||
| NBA | Suns/Spurs Game 4 | TNT |
2.8
|
2.8
|
| The Spurs’ season-ending Game 4 loss to the Suns drew a 2.8 U.S. rating on TNT, down 13% from Celtics/Magic Game 4 last year (3.2), but up 17% from Hornets/Spurs Game 4 in ’08 (2.4). | ||||
| MLB | Yankees/Red Sox (82%) or Braves/Phillies (17%) | FOX |
2.9
|
2.5
|
| FOX drew a 2.5 final rating for regional MLB coverage featuring Yankees/Red Sox last Saturday, up 47% from last year’s comparable coverage (1.7), but down 7% from the first Yankees/Red Sox telecast on FOX last season (2.7). | ||||
| NASCAR | Southern 500 | FOX |
3.8
|
4.2
|
| NASCAR’s Southern 500 drew a 4.2 final rating on FOX last Saturday night, up 5% from last year (4.0), but down 13% from 2008 (4.8). | ||||
| Golf (M) | The Players Championship, Third Round | NBC |
2.8
|
2.3
|
| The Players Championship, Final Round |
4.0
|
3.0
|
||
| Ratings for The Players Championship were down 12% on Saturday and 17% on Sunday. | ||||
This week’s predictions:
| Sport | Game/Event | Date/Time | Net | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horse Racing | The Preakness Stakes, race portion | 6:15 PM Saturday | NBC | 7.0 |
| Coming off of strong numbers for The Kentucky Derby (tied as the highest rated since ’92), look for the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown to do similiarly well. Last year’s Preakness drew a 6.8, the second-highest rating for the event since ’90. | ||||
| NBA | Celtics/Magic Game 1 | 3:30 PM Sunday | ABC | 4.3 |
| ABC was no doubt banking on either Game 7 between the Cavaliers and Celtics or Game 1 between the Cavaliers and Magic. As it is, LeBron James and his drawing power have been knocked out of the playoffs. Luckily for ABC, the Celtics are a great consolation prize. Last year’s Rockets/Lakers Game 7 drew a 4.5 on ABC; Game 1 of last year’s Magic/Cavaliers East Final drew a 4.6 in primetime on TNT. | ||||
| NHL | Blackhawks/Sharks Game 1 | 3 PM Sunday | NBC | 1.4 |
| The NHL Conference Finals get underway on Sunday with a battle of Top 5 television markets. Though ratings should be solid, Sunday’s Game 1 between the Blackhawks and Sharks may have a tough time matching last year’s Blackhawks/Red Wings Game 1 (1.6). | ||||
| NASCAR | Autism Speaks 400 | 1 PM Sunday | FOX | 4.5 |
| NASCAR enters Sunday’s Autism Speaks 400 on a bit of a winning streak, as three of the past four races have had increases in ratings. Look for more of the same this week; last year’s Autism Speaks 400 set the bar very low, with just a 4.0 rating. | ||||
| MLB | Phillies/Brewers (57%), Astros/Giants (25%) or Mariners/Rays (17%) | 4 PM Saturday | FOX | 1.7 |
| Ratings should be less than spectacular for this week’s slate of regional baseball games on FOX. That said, expect a slight rise from last year’s comparable telecast (1.6). | ||||
| Golf (M) | Valero Texas Open, Third Round | 3 PM Saturday | CBS | 0.7 |
| Valero Texas Open, Final Round | 3 PM Sunday | 1.5 | ||
| The Tiger Woods drama barely helped the PGA in the ratings the past two weeks, with Woods missing the cut in one tournament and quitting another. With no Woods at all for this week’s Valero Texas Open, expect fairly mediocre numbers. Last year, third and final round coverage drew ratings of 0.8 and 1.7, respectively. | ||||
| WNBA | Sparks/Mercury | 2 PM Saturday | ESPN2 | 0.2 |
| The WNBA season begins with the defending champion Mercury taking on Candace Parker and the Sparks. The last time these two teams opened the season (2008), the game drew a hefty (for the WNBA) 0.8 rating on ABC. Ratings should be far lower for this year’s opener. | ||||
