ABC earned a 4.9 overnight Nielsen rating for Thunder-Lakers yesterday afternoon, marking the net’s fourth-best regular-season game (non-Christmas Day) on record. The game also drew a big number in Oklahoma City, with the market earning an 18.9 local rating, which is the net’s second-best NBA regular-season figure. Meanwhile, the Celtics' double-OT win over the Heat in ABC’s early NBA window yesterday earned a 3.8 overnight.
FIGHT NIGHT: “UFC on Fox 6” earned a 2.6 overnight on Saturday from 8:00-10:15pm ET, down from a 2.8 rating for the net’s fifth UFC telecast on Dec. 10. However, the figure is up from a 1.7 overnight for “UFC on Fox 4,” which aired in August up against the London Games. The 2.6 rating ranks the third-best of the six overnights for UFC telecasts on Fox. The top-rated event remains the first telecast in November ’11, which drew a 3.5 overnight for the hour-long telecast.
DOWN UNDER: ESPN earned a 0.5 overnight for the live telecast of Novak Djokovic’s win over Andy Murray in the Australian Open men’s final on Sunday from 3:00-7:45am. That figure is down slightly from a 0.6 for Djokovic’s win over Rafael Nadal on ESPN2 last year. Meanwhile, ESPN earned a 0.5 overnight for Victoria Azarenka’s win over Li Na in the women’s final on Saturday, up from a 0.3 for Azarenka’s win over Maria Sharapova on ESPN2 last year.
X MARKS THE SPOT: The Winter X Games yesterday returned to broadcast TV, with ABC earning a 0.9 overnight for coverage from 4:00-6:00pm. However, that figure was topped by last night’s coverage on ESPN, which earned a 1.2 overnight from 9:15-11:15pm.
The chart below lists overnight Nielsen ratings from weekend sports telecasts on broadcast TV.
| TELECAST |
DATE
|
NET
|
TIME (ET)
|
RAT.
|
| "ESPN Sports Saturday" |
1/26
|
ABC
|
4:00-6:00pm
|
0.9
|
| NCAA Basketball: Maryland-Duke |
1/26
|
CBS
|
1:00-3:00pm
|
1.3
|
| PGA Tour: Farmers Insurance Open* |
1/26
|
CBS
|
3:00-6:00pm
|
1.6
|
| "UFC on Fox 6" |
1/26
|
Fox
|
8:00-10:15pm
|
2.6
|
| Red Bull Signature Series: Crashed Ice |
1/26
|
NBC
|
2:00-3:00pm
|
0.7
|
| U.S. Figure Skating Championships |
1/26
|
NBC
|
3:00-6:00pm
|
1.6
|
| U.S. Figure Skating Championships |
1/26
|
NBC
|
8:00-11:00pm
|
2.5
|
| NBA: Heat-Celtics |
1/27
|
ABC
|
1:00-3:30pm
|
3.8
|
| NBA: Thunder-Lakers |
1/27
|
ABC
|
3:30-6:00pm
|
4.9
|
| AMA Supercross |
1/27
|
CBS
|
12:30-1:00pm
|
1.4
|
| NCAA Basketball: Michigan State-Indiana |
1/27
|
CBS
|
1:00-3:00pm
|
1.5
|
PGA Tour: Farmers Insurance Open:
Third, Final Rounds* |
1/27
|
CBS
|
3:00-7:00pm
|
3.7
|
| Int'l Auto Show |
1/27
|
NBC
|
12:00-1:00pm
|
1.0
|
| Figure Skating: Unforgettable Moments of Love On Ice |
1/27
|
NBC
|
1:00-3:00pm
|
0.9
|
| U.S. Figure Skating Championships |
1/27
|
NBC
|
3:00-5:00pm
|
1.5
|
| "Sunday Night Football Special" |
1/27
|
NBC
|
5:00-6:00pm
|
1.4
|
| NFL Pro Bowl |
1/27
|
NBC
|
7:30-10:30pm
|
7.7
|
| |
|
|
|
|
NOTES: * = Fog forced cancellation of Farmers Insurance Open third-round play on Saturday. Play resumed Sunday, but the final round concluded on Golf Channel and CBS on Monday.
