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 |
