ABC's Hornets-Lakers Western Conference First Round Game One and Fox's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron's 499 from Talladega Superspeedway topped the weekend ratings for sports telecasts, both earning a 4.6 overnight. While ABC's NBA Playoff coverage was up compared to last year, Fox's NASCAR coverage from Talladega was down 6% compared to the same race last year. CBS saw a slight decline for coverage of the PGA Tour Valero Texas Open, which was moved up in the calendar from May last year. ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball" continued a strong start to the season with a 2.3 overnight rating for Yankees-Rangers, up 35% from the comparable Mets-Cardinals game last year. Listed below are overnight Nielsen ratings for sports telecasts on broadcast TV over the weekend (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
| TELECAST |
DATE |
NET |
TIME (ET) |
RAT. |
| "NBA Countdown" |
4/16 |
ABC |
3:00-3:30pm |
0.6 |
NBA Eastern Conference First Round:
76ers-Heat: Game One |
4/16 |
ABC |
3:30-6:00pm |
3.9 |
| PGA Tour: Valero Texas Open: Third Round |
4/16 |
CBS |
3:00-6:00pm |
1.1 |
| MLB: (regional) |
4/16 |
Fox |
4:00-7:00pm |
1.7 |
NHL Western Conference Quarterfinals:
Coyotes-Red Wings: Game Two |
4/16 |
NBC |
1:00-4:00pm |
1.1 |
Champions Tour: Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am:
Third Round |
4/16 |
NBC |
4:00-6:00pm |
0.7 |
| "NBA Countdown" |
4/17 |
ABC |
3:00-3:30pm |
1.0 |
NBA Western Conference First Round:
Hornets-Lakers: Game One |
4/17 |
ABC |
3:30-6:00pm |
4.6 |
| Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam World Finals 12 |
4/17 |
CBS |
2:00-3:00pm |
0.5 |
| PGA Tour: Valero Texas Open: Final Round |
4/17 |
CBS |
3:00-6:00pm |
1.3 |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup: Aaron's 499 |
4/17 |
Fox |
1:00-4:30pm |
4.6 |
| National Heads-Up Poker Championship (taped) |
4/17 |
NBC |
12:00-1:00pm |
0.8 |
Champions Tour: Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am:
Final Round |
4/17 |
NBC |
1:00-3:00pm |
0.6 |
NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals:
Capitals-Rangers: Game Three |
4/17 |
NBC |
3:00-6:00pm |
1.3 |
