Predictions for the next year in sports media.
- Despite the absence of several big name teams, including the Cowboys, Vikings and Colts, ratings remain strong for NFL playoff games. NBC’s Giants/Eagles NFC Wild Card game is the highest rated Saturday Wild Card game since 1999 (19.0). The Eagles/Falcons NFC title game is the highest rated early Conference Championship game in at least twelve years (28.5). Ratings aren’t quite as strong in the AFC, as the Steelers/Patriots title game draws a 28.0, down from the Vikings/Saints game in the same timeslot a year earlier (30.6). The Patriots/Eagles Super Bowl sets a new record as the most-viewed program in TV history, drawing a 45.4 rating and 107.2 million viewers.
- The NFL lockout does not cost the league a single regular season game.
- The Bowl Championship Series draws record-low ratings in its first year on cable. The Rose Bowl (9.6) and National Championship Game (12.7) set all-time record lows, the Fiesta Bowl (6.3) hits a fourteen-year low, the Orange Bowl (6.6) is the second-lowest rated in eighteen years, and the Sugar Bowl (7.9) is the third-lowest rated in fifteen years.
- Regular season NBA ratings are up across the board: ABC averages a 2.7, the network’s best average since reacquiring rights. TNT averages a 1.4, up 27%, and ESPN averages a 1.3, up 18%. Boosted by the Heat, the first two rounds of the playoffs earn record ratings. However, the early eliminations of the Heat, Celtics and Lakers hurt ratings for the Conference Finals. The Magic/Bulls East Final puts up mediocre numbers on TNT, and the Spurs/Jazz West Final tanks for ESPN. The Spurs’ sweep of the Magic in the NBA Finals averages a 6.7 rating on ABC.
- The Spurs’ Game 4 win over the Magic is the last NBA game for a while, as the NBA lockout wipes out the entire 2011-12 NBA season.
- Baseball ratings on FOX rise slightly, but remain low (1.9). TBS earns strong numbers for the Division Series, which includes the Yankees and Red Sox in a pair of five-game ALDS. The six-game Red Sox/Rangers ALCS is a solid draw for FOX, but can’t compare to the last ALCS on the network (Yankees/Angels in ’09). Over in the NL, a Phillies/Giants rematch in the NLCS puts up decent numbers. The Red Sox/Phillies World Series averages a 10.6 rating, way up from the 2010 record low, but behind the 2009 Yankees/Phillies matchup.
- The Daytona 500 hits a three-year high in ratings on FOX. Overall, NASCAR ratings rise on FOX, TNT and ESPN, though ESPN’s Chase for the Cup ratings remain extremely low compared to past years.
- In the first year of a new TV deal, NCAA Tournament ratings are mediocre on CBS, TNT, TBS and TruTV individually — with CBS seeing its worst numbers in years. However, the combined audience across the four networks is up from last year.
- NHL ratings continue to rise, but the league’s shortest Stanley Cup Final in four years (the Red Wings’ five-game win over the Capitals) keeps NBC from topping last year’s twelve-year high.
- NBC and Versus extend their television rights agreement with the NHL.
- Golf ratings continue to falter as Tiger Woods continues to slump.
- Turner Sports does in fact use NBA broadcasters Marv Albert, Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith on NCAA Tournament coverage.
- Speaking of Ernie Johnson, Turner moves the acclaimed studio host back to the studio, and hires Jon Miller as the new voice of its Major League Baseball play-by-play coverage.
- FOX Sports hires Joe Morgan as an analyst for MLB telecasts. The Joe Buck/Tim McCarver/Joe Morgan booth becomes a hot topic by the end of the 2011 postseason.
- ESPN completely overhauls ESPN Classic, turning it into what amounts to a dumping ground for sports that can’t fit on ESPN2’s schedule. There is still some ‘classic’ programming left, but it’s limited to a two-hour early morning block.
- Comcast/NBC wins the rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games.
