Weekend ratings predictions: Euro 2016 final, Wimbledon and more – Sporting News
First, the results of last week’s predictions :
— NASCAR Sprint Cup from Daytona. Prediction: 3.2; final rating: 3.4.
— U.S. Olympic Trials, swimming and track & field. Prediction: 3.3; final rating: 2.4.
— Major League Baseball, Cubs-Mets or other regional action. Prediction: 1.8; final rating: 1.4.
— PGA Tour WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, final round. Prediction: 2.3; final rating: 1.9.
— Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. Prediction: 0.4; final rating: 0.8.
This week’s predictions:
UEFA Euro 2016 final, Portugal-France (2:30 p.m. Sunday, ESPN). Euro 2016 has not been as strong a draw as four years ago, but look for the tournament to end on a solid note Sunday. Aided by a Wimbledon lead-in and the presence of international star Ronaldo, look for ratings to edge past the 2012 Spain-Italy final (2.4) and Spain-Germany on ABC in 2008 (2.3). Prediction: 2.5.
Wimbledon women’s final, S. Williams-Kerber (9 a.m. Saturday, ESPN). Still going for her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam singles title, Serena Williams returns to the Wimbledon final facing the opponent who beat her at Australia in January. While Williams’ chase for the calendar Grand Slam drove U.S. Open ratings last year, her quest for 22 has not had much of an impact on subsequent majors. Whether she ties the record or again falls short, do not expect ratings to change much from last year’s 1.7. Prediction: 1.6.
Wimbledon men’s final, Raonic-TBD (9 a.m. Sunday, ESPN). With neither Roger Federer nor Novak Djokovic in the final, look for ratings to sink for the Wimbledon men’s final. Last year’s final between the two stars earned a 1.9 rating. Prediction: 1.4.
U.S. Olympic Trials, women’s gymnastics (9 p.m. Friday and 8:30 p.m. Sunday, NBC). Women’s gymnastics has already been a stronger draw this Olympic season, with last month’s national championship scoring its largest audience in sixteen years. While that would seem to bode well for the Olympic Trials, 2012 set a high bar with a 4.7 rating on Friday and a 5.9 on Sunday. Even with building hype surrounding Simone Biles, ratings should fall short of those levels — but remain solidly ahead of 2008 (2.9 and 3.9). Prediction: 3.8 and 5.0.
U.S. Women’s Open, final round (3 p.m. Sunday, FOX). In year one on FOX, the U.S. Women’s Open suffered a whopping 50 percent decline in final round ratings (1.4 to 0.7). Do not expect much of a recovery this time around. Prediction: 0.8.
Tour de France, Stage 8 (8 a.m. Sunday, NBC). The Tour de France gets its annual exposure on the NBC broadcast network Sunday morning. Last year’s coverage had a 0.7 rating, the same as the previous year and down just a tick from 2014. Look for more of the same this time. Prediction: 0.7.
Paulsen is the founder of Sports Media Watch and a contributor for Sporting News. Follow him on Twitter @Paulsen_SMW .
