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Final Ratings: NASCAR Sprint Unlimited Lowest Since '02; NBA All-Star Sat. Night Down

Fox finished with a 3.5 rating (5.7 million viewers) for the NASCAR Sprint Unlimited (formerly the Budweiser Shootout) last Saturday night, marking the lowest rating for the event since ’02, when TNT earned a 3.4. This year’s figures are down 17% and 23%, respectively, from a 4.2 rating and 7.5 million viewers last year, when the NASCAR race did not have to air head-to-head with the NBA All-Star Saturday Night telecast. The race peaked at a 3.8 rating during the final quarter hour of the telecast. Despite the drop, Fox still finished first among all broadcast nets in primetime. Charlotte topped all markets with an 11.0 local rating.

AUDIENCE TREND FOR NASCAR'S SPRINT UNLIMITED
(FORMERLY BUDWEISER SHOOTOUT)
YEAR
NET
U.S. RATING
VIEWERS (000)
'13
Fox
3.5
5,722
'12
Fox
4.2
7,467
'11
Fox
4.5
7,847
'10
Fox
4.4
8,187
'09
Fox
4.9
8,263
'08
Fox
5.1
8,500
'07
Fox
4.8
8,441
'06*
TNT
3.7
6,150
'05
Fox
5.3
n/a
'04
TNT
3.6
n/a
'03
Fox
5.5
n/a
'02
TNT
3.4
n/a

CHART NOTE: * = Telecast aired in the afternoon on a Sunday to avoid going head-to-head with Turin Olympics.

STARRY NIGHTS: TNT finished with a 3.3 U.S. rating and 5.9 million viewers for the NBA All-Star Saturday Night telecast, which featured the Sears Shooting Stars competition, Taco Bell Skills Challenge, Foot Locker Three-Point Contest and Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. Those figures are down 8% and 5%, respectively, from a 3.6 rating and 6.2 million viewers last year. The net also drew a 1.3 rating and 1.9 million viewers for the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, down 24% and 31%, respectively, from a 1.7 rating and 2.7 million viewers last year. Meanwhile, ESPN earned a 1.5 rating and 2.3 million viewers for the Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game last Friday, flat in rating, but down 4% from 2.4 million viewers last year.

TNT AUDIENCE TREND FOR NBA ALL-STAR SATURDAY NIGHT
YEAR
U.S. RATING
VIEWERS (000)
'13
3.3
5,898
'12
3.6
6,237
'11
4.4
8,130
'10
3.1
5,441
'09
3.9
6,554
'08
3.1
5,206

NOTES: ESPN earned a 2.3 U.S. rating and 3.7 million viewers for the Indiana-Michigan State men’s basketball game on Tuesday night, marking the net’s second-best audience this season to date. Only Indiana-Michigan on Feb. 2 has a better audience (4.0 million viewers). Indianapolis topped all markets with a 19.4 local rating, followed by Louisville (10.8) and Detroit (9.0)….FS Detroit topped all sports networks in the Detroit market in primetime during ’12. The net’s rating in Detroit among adults 25-54 also was 63% higher than ESPN.

The charts below lists final Nielsen ratings from recent sports telecasts.

TELECAST
DATE
NET
TIME (ET)
RAT.
VIEWERS
(000)
NASCAR Sprint Cup:
The Sprint Unlimited
2/16
Fox
8:20-9:59pm
3.5
5,722
PGA Tour: Northern Trust Open:
Final Round*
2/17
CBS
3:04-7:05pm
2.5
n/a
NASCAR Sprint Cup: Daytona 500 qualifying
2/17
Fox
1:00-3:30pm
2.0
3,100
PGA Tour: Northern Trust Open:
Third Round
2/16
CBS
3:20-6:00pm
1.5
n/a
NCAA Basketball:
Ohio State-Wisconsin
2/17
CBS
1:00-3:04pm
1.4
n/a
NHL: Kings-Blackhawks
2/17
NBC
3:30-6:02pm
1.2
1,810
NHL: Penguins-Sabres
2/17
NBC
12:30-3:15pm
1.1
1,717
NCAA Basketball: (regional)
2/16
CBS
1:00-3:20pm
1.0
n/a
Red Bull Signature Series: Crashed Ice
2/16
NBC
4:00-6:00pm
0.7
1,214
FIS Alpine World Championships
2/16
NBC
3:00-4:00pm
0.6
944
"75 Years of NCAA March Madness:
Top 10 Buzzer Beaters"
2/17
CBS
12:00-1:00pm
0.6
n/a
"ESPN Sports Saturday"
2/16
ABC
4:00-6:00pm
0.5
n/a
"75 Years of NCAA March Madness:
Top 10 Championship Runs"
2/16
CBS
12:30-1:00pm
0.5
n/a
Liga MX: Tigres UANL-Santos Laguna
2/16
UniMas
7:53-10:00pm
0.4
776
USSA Halfpipe Grand Prix
2/16
NBC
2:00-3:00pm
0.4
630
           

NOTE: * = Final round playoff concluded on Golf Channel from 7:00-7:20pm ET. GC averaged a 0.9 rating and 1.4 million viewers.

TELECAST
DATE
NET
TIME (ET)
RAT.
VIEWERS (000)
NBA All-Star Game
2/17
TNT
8:42-11:36pm
4.6
8,020
NBA All-Star Saturday Night
2/16
TNT
8:31-11:18pm
3.3
5,898
"NBA All-Star Pregame"
2/17
TNT
7:00-8:42pm
2.5
4,069
NBA: Heat-Thunder
2/14
TNT
8:16-11:00pm
2.2
3,391
NBA: Clippers-Lakers
2/14
TNT
11:00pm-1:25am
1.7
2,610
NCAA Basketball: Duke-Maryland
2/16
ESPN
6:24-8:31pm
1.5
2,499
NCAA Basketball:
North Carolina-Duke
2/13
ESPN
9:06-11:15pm
1.6
2,353
"Sir Charles at 50"
2/16
TNT
11:18pm-12:18am
1.4
2,277
NBA All-Star Celebrity Game
2/15
ESPN
7:00-9:00pm
1.5
2,263
NCAA Basketball:
Michigan-Michigan State
2/12
ESPN
9:05-11:04pm
1.5
2,232

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