First, the results of last week’s predictions.
- Sunday Night Football on NBC, Eagles/Bears. Prediction: 9.7. Final rating: 10.8. The 10.8 final rating for the Bears’ victory over the Eagles last week marks a 15% increase from a 9.4 for Eagles/Giants last year.
- NFL on FOX, Washington/Cowboys. Prediction: 14.0. Final rating: 13.0. Washington’s upset victory over Dallas last Sunday drew a 13.0 final rating, up 7% from a 12.2 for the Broncos/Colts game in the comparable timeslot last year. The game finished as the second highest rated and second-most watched show of the week, behind Dancing With the Stars on ABC.
- College football on ESPN, Alabama/Georgia. Prediction: 3.9. Final rating: 3.9. The 3.9 rating for Alabama’s blowout victory over Georgia last Saturday was up 26% from a 3.1 for the comparable Auburn/Florida game last year.
- Saturday Night Football on ABC. Prediction: 2.9. Final rating: 3.6. ABC drew a solid 3.6 final rating for regional college football action last Saturday, even with the comparable USC/Washington game in ’07.
- NASCAR on ABC, Camping World RV 400. Prediction: 3.3. Final rating: 3.5. NASCAR ratings continue to rise above last year’s levels, but remain relatively unimpressive. The 3.5 rating for last Sunday’s Camping World RV 400 marks a 13% increase from a 3.1 for last year’s LifeLock 400.
- MLB on FOX, regional. Prediction: 1.9. Final rating: N/A.
- Notre Dame Football on NBC, Purdue/Notre Dame. Prediction: 2.6. Final rating: N/A.
- PGA on NBC, The Tour Championship. Prediction: 1.7. Final rating: N/A.
This week’s predictions:
- MLB on TBS, Cubs/Dodgers, 10 PM Saturday — With the Cubs facing a sweep for the second straight year, look for their elimination game against the Dodgers to draw better numbers than the Phillies/Rockies game in the same timeslot a year ago. Prediction: 3.2.
- MLB on TBS, Angels/Red Sox, 7 PM Sunday — TBS should draw good numbers for the defending champion Red Sox’ possible clinching game against the Angels on Sunday, but they will fall far short of the 5.4 for the comparable Indians/Yankees game last year. Prediction: 3.4.
- EliteXC on CBS, 9 PM Saturday — Saturday Night Fights returns to CBS for the third time this year, and with its toughest competition yet. With college football on the ESPN family of networks and the baseball playoffs on TBS, look for the smallest numbers yet for Elite XC on broadcast television. Prediction: 1.6.
- Saturday Night Football on ABC, regional, 8 PM Saturday — USC and Ohio State make their first return to ABC’s Saturday Night Football since their head-to-head battle drew a 7.0 rating earlier in the season. With neither program in the top ten, do not expect similar blockbuster numbers for their battles against Wisconsin and Oregon, respectively. Prediction: 3.8.
- NFL on CBS, Bengals/Cowboys, 4:15 PM Sunday — The Bengals continue their quest for the NFL’s first winless season in decades against the Cowboys on Sunday. Is Dallas’ status as ‘America’s team’ enough to bring in viewers for what seems like a dud of a game? If not, perhaps the match-up of Chad Johnson and Terrell Owens will be enough to do the trick. Prediction: 11.9.
- Sunday Night Football on NBC, Steelers/Jaguars, 8:15 PM Sunday — Look for this NFC Wildcard rematch to draw a decent number on NBC Sunday night. Prediction: 9.6.
- NASCAR on ABC, Amp Energy 500, 2 PM Sunday — So far, ratings for NASCAR on ABC have been trending up, but not by too much. Last year’s comparable race drew a strong 4.6/10, which may be too high of a bar to pass this time around. Prediction: 4.3.
