Reviewing the predictions made on this site last January 1, on a Nostradamus scale of 1 to 10.
Prediction: “Without big draws like the Cowboys, Patriots and Packers, ratings drop during the NFL Playoffs. The NFC title game between the Panthers and Eagles draws a 23.5 rating, down 19% from a 29.0 last year. In the AFC, Steelers/Titans draws a 25.2, down slightly from a 25.7 for Patriots/Chargers last season. The Eagles/Steelers Super Bowl is a big hit in Pennsylvania, but viewership falls short of the 97.5 million for last year’s Giants/Patriots game.”
- Nostradamus scale: 8. Ratings did drop for the NFL’s Conference Championship games, as Cardinals/Eagles drew a 21.9 rating (down 25%) and Steelers/Ravens drew a 22.0 (down 14%). However, the Steelers/Cardinals Super Bowl surpassed the viewership of Giants/Patriots, drawing 98.7 million viewers.
Prediction: “Ratings for the BCS increase slightly from last year. Florida/Oklahoma draws a 15.3 rating, up from a 14.4 for LSU/Ohio State last season.”
- Nostradamus scale: 10. Ratings for the BCS increased last year, and the Florida/Oklahoma National Championship Game drew a 15.8 — up from LSU/Ohio State.
Prediction: “NBA ratings hold steady from last year, with regular season ratings up slightly on ABC and flat on ESPN and TNT. Ratings dip during the playoffs, but perk up again during the Conference Finals, as Lakers/Spurs and Cavaliers/Celtics draw record ratings on ESPN/ABC and TNT. While most expect a rematch of the ’08 Finals, ABC ends up with a rematch of the ’07 Finals — when the Cavaliers and Spurs meet again. Unlike 2007, ratings are relatively decent for this go-round, averaging a 8.3 rating for the seven-game series.”
- Nostradamus scale: 10. Regular season NBA ratings did increase on ABC, and remained flat on ESPN and TNT. Meanwhile, the NBA Conference Finals (Lakers/Nuggets and Magic/Cavaliers) drew record ratings on ESPN/ABC and TNT. Finally, while the NBA Finals was Lakers/Magic instead of Cavaliers/Spurs, the series drew an 8.4 rating — a tick higher than the 8.3 predicted.
Prediction: “Ratings for the Stanley Cup Finals fall back to earth, as the series between the Sharks and Bruins averages a 2.5 rating on NBC — down 19% from last year. On the bright side, Versus continues to draw record ratings for its NHL coverage.”
- Nostradamus scale: 6. Ratings for the Stanley Cup Final — a rematch between the Penguins and Red Wings — were down slightly on NBC (3.2 in ’08 to a 3.1 in ’09). Meanwhile, Versus did continue to attract record numbers for its NHL coverage.
Prediction: “Regular season MLB ratings increase to a 2.2 on FOX. Meanwhile, with the Yankees making the World Series for the first time since 2000, ratings for the Fall Classic are way up from Rays/Phillies. Unfortunately for FOX, the 10.5 average rating for the Yankees’ four-game sweep of the surprising Pittsburgh Pirates is still one of the lowest ever for the World Series.”
- Nostradamus scale: 6. Regular season baseball ratings on FOX dropped once again, this time to a record low 1.8. However, the Yankees did make the World Series, and ratings did increase significantly. One problem: while the Yankees did face a team from Pennsylvania in the World Series, it was not the moribund Pirates.
Prediction: “Tiger Woods’ return results in higher ratings for golf events. However, ratings drop for The Masters and the U.S. Open — both of which Woods played in last year.”
- Nostradamus scale: 10. Tiger Woods’ return gave golf ratings a major jolt in 2009. However, ratings for the final round of The Masters and the U.S. Open were down 3% and 47%, respectively.
Prediction: “David Stern will announce plans to retire as NBA Commissioner.”
- Nostradamus scale: 0. Nope.
Prediction: “Charles Barkley will finally do something so outrageous that TNT is forced to fire him. Meanwhile, Kenny Smith leaves for a job in an NBA team’s front office. Your Inside the NBA team at the start of the ’09-’10 season: EJ, Gary Payton and Chris Webber.”
- Nostradamus scale: 0. Barkley and Smith are still with TNT — meanwhile, Payton is no longer with Turner.
Prediction: “NBC boots Keith Olbermann and Jerome Bettis from Football Night in America.”
- Nostradamus scale: 5. This was half right. NBC dropped Bettis at the end of the ’09 season. Olbermann, however, is still there.
Prediction: “Jeff Van Gundy returns to coaching after the 2009 NBA Finals. ABC decides to make a splash by replacing him with Doris Burke.”
- Nostradamus scale: 0. Nope. Though still a sought after candidate for NBA coaching jobs, Van Gundy is still in the booth.
Prediction: “Brett Favre retires; ESPN hires him for Sunday NFL Countdown.”
- Nostradamus scale: 2. Brett Favre did retire, even if briefly, and there was talk that ESPN was interested in his services. Of course, as he always does, Favre eventually returned to the NFL.
Prediction: “FOX is not the only network to cancel a sports pregame show. Before the end of the year, ABC cuts College Football Countdown.”
- Nostradamus scale: 0. Swing and a miss on this one. ABC’s largely superfluous college football pregame remains on the air.
Prediction: “ESPN cancels ESPN First Take”
- Nostradamus scale: 0. ESPN First Take remains on the air, with no end in sight.
