NFL preseason games were in full swing over the weekend. NBC led the way with a 7.5 overnight Nielsen rating for last night's Panthers-Jets game, marking the second-best overnight for any preseason NFL game since '04 (tied with Bengals-Cowboys HOF Game in '10). The 7.5 is also up 15% from the net's comparable Saints-Raiders telecast last season. Meanwhile, Fox earned a 5.4 overnight for 49ers-Broncos yesterday afternoon and CBS earned a 4.9 overnight for Bears-Giants on Friday night. ABC aired its first NASCAR Sprint Cup telecast of the season on Saturday night, with the Irwin Tools Night Race from Bristol Motor Speedway earning a 3.7 overnight. That figure is up 19% from a 3.1 rating for the same race last year. ABC also earned a 2.2 rating for the Little League World Series World Championship yesterday, down 19% from last year's title game.
The chart below lists overnight Nielsen ratings from weekend sports telecasts on broadcast TV.
| TELECAST | DATE | NET | TIME (ET) | RAT. |
| NFL Preseason: Bears-Giants | 8/22 | CBS | 8:00-11:15pm | 4.9 |
| LLWS: Int'l Championship: Japan-Panama | 8/23 | ABC | 12:30-3:30pm | 1.4 |
LLWS: U.S. Championship:
Goodlettsville, Tenn.-Petaluma, Calif. | 8/23 | ABC | 3:30-7:00pm | 2.3 |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup: Irwin Tools Night Race (Bristol) | 8/23 | ABC | 7:30-11:00pm | 3.7 |
ATP World Tour: Winston-Salem Open:
John Isner d. Tomas Berdych | 8/23 | CBS | 12:30-3:15pm | 0.7 |
| PGA Tour: FedCup Playoffs: The Barclays: Third Round | 8/23 | CBS | 3:15-6:00pm | 2.2 |
| NFL Preseason: Texans-Saints | 8/23 | CBS | 8:00-11:00pm | 4.5 |
| MLB: (regional) | 8/23 | Fox | 4:00-7:15pm | 1.8 |
| USA Pro Cycling Challenge | 8/23 | NBC | 2:00-4:00pm | 0.5 |
| Horse Racing: Travers Stakes | 8/23 | NBC | 4:00-6:00pm | 0.7 |
| LLWS: World Championship: Japan-Goodlettsville, Tenn. | 8/24 | ABC | 3:00-5:30pm | 2.2 |
| U.S. Open: Arthur Ashe Kids' Day | 8/24 | CBS | 12:30-1:00pm | 0.7 |
| "U.S. Open Preview" | 8/24 | CBS | 1:00-2:00pm | 0.8 |
| PGA Tour: FedCup Playoffs: The Barclays: Final Round | 8/24 | CBS | 2:00-6:00pm | 2.7 |
| NFL Preseason: 49ers-Broncos | 8/24 | Fox | 4:15-7:30pm | 5.4 |
| Sailing: America's Cup World Series | 8/24 | NBC | 2:30-4:00pm | 0.7 |
| USA Pro Cycling Challenge | 8/24 | NBC | 4:00-6:00pm | 0.6 |
| Madden NFL 13 Pigskin Pro-Am (taped) | 8/24 | NBC | 7:00-8:00pm | 1.8 |
| NFL Preseason: Panthers-Jets | 8/24 | NBC | 8:15-11:00pm | 7.5 |
