Final Ratings: Chase For The NASCAR Sprint Cup Up 8% Across ESPN/ABC

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup is averaging a 2.8 rating and 4.5 million viewers for the four races held as scheduled across ESPN and ABC, up 8% and 7%, respectively, from a 2.6 rating and 4.2 million viewers last year (five races). The first Chase race from Chicagoland Speedway was rained out and run on a Monday. This past weekend’s Bank of America 500 from Charlotte Motor Speedway on ABC -- which is the only Chase race on broadcast TV -- earned a 3.2 rating (5.4 million viewers), flat compared to the same race last year.  

WHAT’S UP DOC: ESPN Films' fall slate of documentaries has averaged 962,000 viewers for the premieres of the first three films, which has included “Catching Hell,” “Renée” and “The Dotted Line.” “Catching Hell,” which was director Alex Gibney’s look at sports scapegoating around Steve Bartman and Bill Buckner, has had the top premiere thus far with 1.4 million viewers on Sept. 27. That figure was higher than audience for all but six of the “30 for 30” premieres on the net. “Renée” averaged 508,000 viewers for its premiere and “The Dotted Line” averaged 810,000 viewers.

The chart below lists final Nielsen ratings from recent sports telecasts. All ratings listed are U.S. ratings.

TELECAST	DATE	NET	TIME (ET)	RAT.	VIEWERS (000)
"NFL on Fox": Cowboys-Patriots (88%)	10/16	Fox	4:44-7:35pm	17.1	28,443
"NFL on Fox": (regional)	10/16	Fox	1:03-4:44pm	10.5	17,201
"Sunday Night Football": Vikings-Bears	10/16	NBC	8:31-11:16pm	10.1	16,568
"NFL on CBS": (single)	10/16	CBS	1:00-4:05pm	8.8	14,533
"The OT"	10/16	Fox	7:35-8:00pm	7.9	12,770
"Football Night in America"	10/16	NBC	7:30-8:15pm	4.8	7,760
ALCS: Rangers-Tigers: Game Six	10/15	Fox	8:02-11:35pm	4.6	7,702
"Fox NFL Sunday"	10/16	Fox	12:00-1:00pm	4.0	6,100
College Football: (regional)	10/15	ABC	3:30-7:00pm	3.8	5,587
NASCAR Sprint Cup: Bank of America 500 (Charlotte)	10/15	ABC	7:30-11:30pm	3.2	5,396
College Football: LSU-Tennessee	10/15	CBS	3:30-6:55pm	2.8	4,447
"The NFL Today"	10/16	CBS	12:00-1:00pm	2.1	n/a
Izod IndyCar Series World Championships (Las Vegas)*	10/16	ABC	3:33-6:32pm	1.6	2,448
PBR: Cooper Tires Invitational (taped)	10/16	CBS	5:00-6:00pm	1.1	1,546
World Gymnastics Championships: (taped)	10/15	NBC	1:00-3:00pm	0.8	1,339
World Gymnastics Championships: (taped)	10/16	NBC	2:00-4:00pm	0.7	1,035
Horse Racing: Keeneland	10/15	NBC	5:00-6:00pm	0.6	873
Dew Tour Championships	10/15	NBC	3:30-5:00pm	0.5	759
Dew Tour Championships	10/16	NBC	4:30-6:00pm	0.5	647
"College Football Today"	10/15	CBS	3:00-3:30pm	0.5	n/a
Lucas Oil Off Road Racing (taped)	10/15	CBS	2:00-3:00pm	0.3	n/a

NOTE: * = Majority of coverage surrounded a crash on lap 11 that resulted in the death of driver Dan Wheldon. The race was called off following the accident.

TELECAST	DATE	NET	TIME (ET)	RAT.	VIEWERS (000)
"Monday Night Football": Bears-Lions	10/10	ESPN	8:30-11:49pm	10.3	16,378
NLCS: Cardinals-Brewers: Game Six	10/16	TBS	7:57pm-12:00am	3.6	5,938
NLCS: Cardinals-Brewers: Game Four	10/13	TBS	7:57-11:38pm	3.7	5,650
NLCS: Cardinals-Brewers: Game Five	10/14	TBS	7:57-11:23pm	3.4	5,461
College Football: Michigan-Michigan State	10/15	ESPN	12:01-3:30pm	3.3	4,777
NLCS: Cardinals-Brewers: Game Three	10/12	TBS	7:59-11:28pm	2.8	4,282
College Football: Arizona State-Oregon	10/15	ESPN	10:26pm-1:49am	2.5	3,868
College Football: Florida-Auburn	10/15	ESPN	7:00-10:26pm	2.2	3,571
"Monday Night Countdown"	10/10	ESPN	7:00-8:30pm	2.1	3,051
NLCS: Cardinals-Brewers: Game Two	10/10	TBS	7:57-11:49pm	1.9	3,021