First, the results of last week’s predictions
| Sport | Game/Event | Net |
Prediction
|
Rating
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NBA | Lakers/Celtics Game 5 | ABC |
11.0
|
10.8
|
| ABC drew a 10.8 final rating for last Sunday’s Lakers/Celtics Game 5, up 35% from last year (8.0), up 6% from 2008 (10.2), and the highest rating for a Game 5 in the NBA Finals since 2004. | ||||
| World Cup | England/USA | ABC |
6.3
|
7.3
|
| The ABC broadcast of last week’s England/USA World Cup match drew a 7.3 final rating, up 66% from the lone USA World Cup match on ABC in 2006 (4.4). | ||||
| NASCAR | Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 | TNT |
3.2
|
2.9
|
| Last Sunday’s NASCAR Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 drew a 2.9 U.S. rating on TNT, down 12% from both last year and 2008, and the lowest rated edition of the race since at least 1997. | ||||
| MLB | Phillies/Red Sox (73%) or White Sox/Cubs (26%) | FOX |
1.6
|
1.7
|
| Regional MLB action featuring Phillies/Red Sox drew a 1.7 final rating on FOX last week, down 26% from coverage featuring Mets/Yankees last year (2.3). | ||||
| MLB | Nationals/Indians | TBS |
1.1
|
—
|
| Ratings for last Sunday’s Nationals/Indians telecast were not immediately available. | ||||
This week’s predictions:
| Sport | Game/Event | Day/Time | Net | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golf (M) | U.S. Open, Third Round | 4:30 PM Saturday | NBC | 4.0 |
| There has not been much hype for the 2010 U.S. Open, especially compared to the last time the event stretched into primetime (2008). That said, ratings for both Saturday and Sunday should improve compared to last year’s rain-soaked event. Saturday coverage last year, which featured the second and third rounds, drew a 3.4 rating — the second-lowest in 18 years. In ’08, the third round drew a 4.6. | ||||
| Golf (M) | U.S. Open, Final Round | 3 PM Sunday | NBC | 6.1 |
| Do not expect ratings for the final round of the U.S. Open to match 2008 (7.5), the last time the event was scheduled to end in primetime on East Coast. That said, the numbers should finish ahead of last year, when third and final round coverage drew a 4.7. | ||||
| World Cup | Cameroon/Denmark | 2 PM Saturday | ABC | 2.4 |
| The 2010 FIFA World Cup continues with Saturday’s Cameroon/Denmark match on ABC. Through Friday, ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC averaged a 1.9 for the World Cup, with ABC’s Germany/Australia match (the net’s only non-USA match) drawing a 2.8 last Sunday. Expect similar numbers for Saturday’s match. | ||||
| World Cup | Brazil/Ivory Coast | 2 PM Sunday | ABC | 3.3 |
| Expect solid numbers for Sunday’s Brazil/Ivory Coast match on ABC. On the comparable day in 2006, Brazil/Australia drew a 3.0 on ABC in a late morning timeslot, while France/South Korea drew a 2.3 in the afternoon. | ||||
| NASCAR | Toyota/Save Mart 350 | 3 PM Sunday | TNT | 3.1 |
| The first two NASCAR races on TNT this season had declines in ratings and viewership compared to last year, continuing a trend that plagued FOX during the first part of the season. Ratings for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 have dropped each of the past four years, bottoming out at a 10-year low of 3.4 last year. Will this year’s race reverse both trends? | ||||
| MLB | Dodgers/Red Sox (72%), Twins/Phillies (19%) or White Sox/Nationals (8%) | 4 PM Saturday | FOX | 1.8 |
| Look for a modest increase in ratings for this week’s regional baseball action on FOX, featuring Dodgers/Red Sox. Last year’s comparable Rays/Mets telecast set the bar low with a 1.5 rating. | ||||
