Overnight Ratings: Preseason NFL Games See Upticks On NBC, Fox

NBC led all weekend sports telecasts with a 6.8 overnight Nielsen rating for its Colts-Steelers NFL preseason game last night, up 10% from a 6.2 for the comparable Chargers-Cowboys game last season. Meanwhile, Fox earned a 3.5 overnight for the Ravens-Lions preseason game on Friday night, up 25% from a 2.8 rating for the comparable Falcons-Jaguars game last year. ESPN finished with a 3.2 overnight for coverage of yesterday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400, flat compared to the same race last year. Red Sox-Yankees was the featured MLB game this weekend, earning a 2.0 overnight during Fox’ Saturday window (72% of markets) and a 2.0 overnight for ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” telecast last night.

The chart below lists overnight Nielsen ratings for weekend sports telecasts on broadcast TV.

TELECAST	DATE	NET	TIME (ET)	RAT.
NFL Preseason: Ravens-Lions	8/17	Fox	8:00-11:30pm	3.5
LLWS: Fairfield, Conn.-Kearney, Neb.	8/18	ABC	3:00-5:30pm	0.8
"College Football Preview Show"	8/18	CBS	1:00-2:00pm	0.5
"PGA Tour 2012: Playing With a Purpose"	8/18	CBS	2:00-3:00pm	0.4
PGA Tour: Wyndham Championship: Third Round	8/18	CBS	3:00-6:00pm	1.2
MLB: (regional)(Red Sox-Yankees, 72%)	8/18	Fox	4:00-7:15pm	2.0
Dew Tour Pantech Beach Championships	8/18	NBC	1:00-3:00pm	0.5
AMA Motocross	8/18	NBC	3:00-4:00pm	0.4
Golf: U.S. Amateur Championship: Third Round	8/18	NBC	4:00-6:00pm	0.4
LLWS: Goodlettsville, Tenn.-Petaluma, Calif.	8/19	ABC	2:00-4:45pm	1.4
ATP World Tour: Western & Southern Open Final: Federer d. Djokovic	8/19	CBS	12:30-3:00pm	0.9
PGA Tour: Wyndham Championship: Final Round (rained out)	8/19	CBS	3:00-6:00pm	1.1
Dew Tour Pantech Beach Championships	8/19	NBC	2:00-4:00pm	0.4
Golf: U.S. Amateur Championship: Final Round	8/19	NBC	4:00-6:00pm	0.8
NFL Preseason: Colts-Steelers	8/19	NBC	8:15-11:00pm	6.8