First, the results of last week’s predictions
Again, due to the Thanksgiving holiday, ratings for most sporting events were unavailable.
| Sport | Game/Event | Net |
Prediction
|
Final rating
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFL | Steelers/Ravens | NBC |
10.1
|
11.5
|
| The 11.5 rating for last week’s Steelers/Ravens game marks a 21% improvement over Colts/Chargers in Week 12 last year (9.5). | ||||
| NFL | Bears/Vikings (or other regional action) | FOX |
14.9
|
14.3
|
| Last Sunday’s NFL national window, featuring Bears/Vikings, drew a 14.3 rating on FOX — off 1% in ratings from a 14.5 for Giants/Cardinals last year. | ||||
| NFL | Washington/Eagles (or other regional action) | FOX |
8.4
|
n/a
|
| NFL | Colts/Texans (or other regional action) | CBS |
9.9
|
n/a
|
| College football | Miami/South Florida (or other regional action) | ABC |
3.5
|
n/a
|
| College football | Notre Dame/Stanford (or Georgia/Ga. Tech) | ABC |
4.1
|
4.5
|
| Regional college football coverage featuring Notre Dame/Stanford drew a 4.5 final rating on ABC last week, off 21% from Oklahoma/Oklahoma St. on Thanksgiving weekend last year, but the highest rated Saturday Night Football telecast since October 3. | ||||
| College football | Florida St./Florida | CBS |
4.7
|
n/a
|
| College football | Arkansas/LSU | ESPN |
1.8
|
n/a
|
This week’s predictions:
| Sport | Game/Event | Date/Time | Net | Prediction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| College football | Florida/Alabama | 4 PM Saturday | CBS |
10.4
|
| The SEC Championship Game pits Florida against Alabama — the top two teams in the nation, and arguably the two biggest television draws in college football. Last year’s game between the same two teams (another #1 versus #2 battle) drew a 9.3 rating, the best ever for the SEC title game. Expect that record to fall this year. | ||||
| College football | Texas/Nebraska | 8 PM Saturday | ABC |
6.3
|
| A national championship berth is on the line in the Big 12 Championship game. Look for ratings to improve somewhat from last year’s matchup (5.5), which also had national title implications. | ||||
| College football | Georgia Tech/Clemson | 8 PM Saturday | ESPN |
2.5
|
| The ACC Championship Game moves to primetime for the first time since 2005 — when, coincidentally, the game drew its highest rating ever. While a move to primetime usually results in increased exposure, the ACC title game is not just moving from broadcast to cable, but will air opposite the Big 12 Championship Game. Still, expect the ratings to hover in the range of last year’s record-low 2.6. | ||||
| College football | BCS Selection Show | 8 PM Sunday | FOX |
6.6
|
| Ratings for the BCS Selection Show have declined each year since ’06, dropping from an 8.4 in ’06 to a 7.1 in ’07 to a 6.3 last year. Look for this year’s show to reverse the trend. | ||||
| NFL | Vikings/Cardinals | 8 PM Sunday | NBC |
12.8
|
| The first NFL game of the season to get flexed into primetime features Brett Favre and the 10-1 Vikings against the defending NFC Champion Cardinals. Expect ratings to improve dramatically over last year’s Week 13 Sunday nighter — featuring the Favre-less Vikings against the Bears (9.6 rtg). | ||||
| NFL | Cowboys/Giants (or 49ers/Seahawks) | 4:15 PM Sunday | FOX |
15.4
|
| The first meeting of the season between the Cowboys and Giants drew a 15.1 rating on NBC — the highest for a regular season NFL game in primetime since ’00. With the national window having already topped a 15.1 on three separate occasions this season, look for this Sunday’s rematch between the teams to draw numbers on par with or even better than their first meeting. | ||||
| NFL | Eagles/Falcons (or other regional action) | 1 PM Sunday | FOX |
8.9
|
| Michael Vick‘s return to Atlanta would seem like a big draw, but the story has been more of an afterthought than could ever have been imagined. Still, expect solid — though not exactly blockbuster — numbers for the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader on FOX. | ||||
| NFL | Patriots/Dolphins (or other regional action) | 1 PM Sunday | CBS |
9.7
|
| Look for Patriots/Dolphins and Titans/Colts to help CBS to some solid numbers for Sunday’s singleheader. | ||||
| College football | Cincinnati/Pittsburgh | 12 PM Saturday | ABC |
3.6
|
| Look for this battle of Top 15 Big East teams to put up better numbers than the game in the comparable timeslot last year — the ACC Championship Game (2.6). | ||||
| College football | Arizona/USC | 3:30 PM Saturday | ABC |
3.0
|
| Though not nearly as big of a rivalry, look for Saturday’s Arizona/USC game to improve upon last year’s USC/UCLA game, which drew a mere 2.5. | ||||
| College basketball | North Carolina/Kentucky | 12:30 PM Saturday | CBS |
1.7
|
| Expect solid numbers for CBS’ college basketball season debut, which features two of the most powerful programs in the country. Last year, CBS opened its season with a doubleheader featuring Memphis/Georgetown (1.1) and Indiana/Kentucky (1.3). | ||||
| Golf | Chevron World Challenge, Third Round | 3 PM Saturday | NBC |
1.4
|
| Chevron World Challenge, Final Round | 3 PM Sunday |
1.5
|
||
| Tiger Woods may not be there, but his presence will no doubt be felt at this weekend’s Chevron World Challenge — and that may help the numbers increase from previous years. Final ratings were not available for last year’s event, but third and final round coverage drew overnight ratings of 1.3 and 1.4, respectively. | ||||
