Overnight ratings for sporting events on broadcast.
From The Sports Business Daily.
Basketball.
3.3/7: NBA on ABC, Spurs/Lakers (3:30 PM Sunday)
2.4/5: NBA on ABC, Mavericks/Celtics (1 PM Sunday)
1.6/4: NBA Countdown on ABC (12:30 PM Sunday)
1.3/3: College basketball on CBS, Michigan St./Ohio St. (3:45 PM Sunday)
1.1/2: College basketball on CBS, Memphis/Tennessee (3:30 PM Saturday)
0.9/2: College basketball on CBS, Florida/Vanderbilt (1:30 PM Sunday)
- ABC drew the highest overnight rating for any sporting event on broadcast last weekend thanks to the NBA. The 3.3/7 overnight for the Lakers’ win over the Spurs was off 3% from a 3.4 for a much closer Cavaliers/Lakers tilt in ’08.
- In the early game, the Celtics’ destruction of the Mavericks was up 4% from a 2.3 for last year’s comparable Celtics/Magic tilt, which ended on a game-winning three pointer. Does market size trump quality of play?
- On the college side, the 1.1 overnight for Saturday’s Memphis/Tennessee game was off 15% from a 1.3 for UConn/Indiana in an earlier timeslot last year. On Sunday, the 0.9 for Florida/Vanderbilt was down 31% from a 1.3 for Michigan/Michigan State in the same timeslot last year. The 1.3 overnight for Michigan State/Ohio State later in the day was the highest of the weekend for a college basketball game on broadcast. There was no game in the comparable timeslot a year ago.
Figure skating.
3.0/5: U.S. Figure Skating Championships on NBC, Ladies Free Skate (9 PM Saturday)
2.3/5: U.S. Figure Skating Championships on NBC, Men’s Free Skate (4 PM Sunday)
2.1/5: U.S. Figure Skating Championships on NBC, Pairs Free Skate, Ladies Short, Free Dance (3 PM Saturday)
- The 3.0 overnight for prime time coverage of the Ladies’ Free Skate on Saturday night was off 21% from a 3.8 last year. Ratings dropped even further for the Men’s Free Skate on Sunday afternoon, as the 2.3 overnight was down 34% from a 3.5 for prime time coverage in ’08.
Other.
1.3/3: Winter X Games on ABC (3 PM Saturday)
1.2/3: Purina Incredible Dog Challenge on ABC (2 PM Saturday, taped)
1.1/2: North American International Auto Show on NBC (3 PM Sunday, taped)
0.9/2: Monster Energy AMA Supercross on CBS, Houston (12:30 PM Sunday)
0.9/2: Skiing on NBC, USSA Nature Valley Freestyle Cup (1:30 PM Sunday, taped)
0.8/2: Grand-Am Rolex Sports Cars Series on FOX, Rolex 24 at Daytona (3 PM Saturday)
- The 1.3 overnight for coverage of the Winter X Games on ABC marks a 7% decline from a 1.4 last year.
- Coverage of the USSA Nature Valley Freestyle Cup drew a 0.9 overnight on NBC Sunday, up 13% from a 0.8 for the same event last year.
