First, the results of last week’s predictions.
Source: Sports Business Daily
| Sport | Game/Event | Net |
Prediction
|
Final rating
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golf | U.S. Open, Third/Final Rounds | NBC |
5.8
|
4.7
|
| The 4.7 for third and final round coverage of the U.S. Open on Sunday was off 37% from last year’s 7.5 for final round coverage, and finished tied as the lowest rating for Sunday coverage of the U.S. Open since ’88. | ||||
| NASCAR | Toyota/SaveMart 350 | TNT |
3.6
|
3.4
|
| Another drop in the ratings for NASCAR. The 3.4 for the Toyota/SaveMart 350 was down 8% from a 3.7 for last year’s race, and marks the lowest rating for the race since ’99. | ||||
| IRL | Iowa Corn Indy 250 | ABC |
0.8
|
0.8
|
| The 0.8 final rating for the IRL Iowa Corn Indy 250 marks a 27% decline from last year’s 1.1. | ||||
| MLB | Rays/Mets or other regional action | FOX |
1.7
|
1.5
|
| For the sixth time in seven weeks, MLB coverage on FOX failed to draw even a 2.0 rating. The 1.5 for last week’s regional coverage marks a 12% drop from a 1.7 for coverage on the comparable date in ’08. | ||||
This week’s predictions:
| Sport | Game/Event | Date/Time | Net |
Prediction
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soccer | Confederations Cup, USA/Brazil | 2 PM Sunday | ESPN |
1.0
|
| Team USA’s high profile upset victory over Spain has likely made the final of the Confederations Cup a much bigger television draw than it would have been otherwise. While ratings for USA/Spain — and the rest of the Confederations Cup — are unavailable, look for the USA/Brazil final to top the Champions League final in May as ESPN’s highest rated soccer telecast of the year. | ||||
| NASCAR | Lenox Industrial Tools 301 | 2 PM Sunday | TNT |
3.3
|
| All but one NASCAR race has had a drop in the ratings this season. With that in mind, do not expect the ratings for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 to match last year’s 3.4. | ||||
| MLB | Yankees/Mets | 8 PM Sunday | ESPN |
2.2
|
| Expect solid numbers for this battle of teams from the nation’s #1 market. The last time the Yankees and Mets played on Sunday Night Baseball (May ’08), the game drew a 2.3 U.S. rating. | ||||
