Weekend ratings predictions: NASCAR Daytona, Olympic trials and more – Sporting News
First, the results of last week’s predictions:
— U.S. Olympic swimming trials. Prediction: 4.7; final rating: 2.7.
— PGA Tour National, final round. Prediction: 1.9; final rating: 1.8.
— NASCAR Sprint Cup from Sonoma. Prediction: 2.4; final rating: 2.4.
— Major League Baseball regional action. Prediction: 1.5; final rating: 1.4.
— Copa America final, Argentina-Chile. Prediction: 2.2; final rating: N/A (9.8M viewers)
This week’s predictions (all times Eastern)
NASCAR Sprint Cup from Daytona (7:45 p.m. Saturday, NBC). Hampered by rain and overshadowed by the Women’s World Cup, last year’s NASCAR Firecracker 400 posted a 2.7 rating, its second-worst since 1997. With rain again in the forecast, it may be difficult for this year’s race to bounce back. If there are no delays, look for ratings to come close to 2013, the last time the race was run as scheduled (3.5). Prediction: 3.2.
U.S. Olympic Trials, swimming and track & field (7 p.m. Sunday, NBC). The U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials has been less of a draw on NBC than four years ago. Do not expect that to change for Sunday’s final night of competition, which will split time with track and field coverage. The final night in 2012 posted a 4.5 rating. Prediction: 3.3.
Major League Baseball, Cubs-Mets or other regional action (7 p.m. Saturday, FOX). A rematch of last year’s highly-rated NLCS leads the regional MLB on FOX slate this weekend. Look for a solid bump in the ratings over last year, when coverage on the July 4 holiday had a 1.6. Prediction: 1.8.
PGA Tour WGC-Bridgestone Invitational (2 p.m. Sunday, CBS). Featuring its usual strong field, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational should weather a scheduling change that moved the tournament up by more than a month. Last year’s final round had a 2.4 rating, down from a 2.5 the previous year. Last year’s comparable July 4 weekend tournament, The Greenbrier Classic, pulled a 2.0. Prediction: 2.3.
Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest (3 p.m. Monday, ESPN). The Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest has been diminished in recent years by ESPN’s acquisition of Wimbledon, but this year marks a new low for the event. With tennis on both ESPN and ESPN2, the contest will not be televised live (though it will be available on WatchESPN). The television audience will have to wait until ESPN’s midday rebroadcast, which last year had a mere 0.3 rating (compared to a 0.7 for the live telecast on ESPN2). With no live showing to siphon off viewers, look for the taped version to eke out an increase. Prediction: 0.4.
Paulsen is the founder of Sports Media Watch and a contributor for Sporting News. Follow him on Twitter @Paulsen_SMW .
