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 |
