FS1 drew a 2.5 overnight rating for the STP 500 yesterday, which was the cable net’s first-ever regular-season NASCAR Sprint Cup Series telecast. The same spring race from Martinsville last year aired on Fox. For comparison, the Martinsville race in the fall during the Chase for the Sprint Cup drew a 2.3 overnight, but that race aired up against football. The FS1 race fared better than the net's UFC programming. FS1 in January drew a 1.7 for “UFC Fight Night,” which was a record for any UFC programming on the net. The 2.5 overnight rating is even with TNT’s average for six summer Sprint Cup races last season. The race also projects to be among FS1’s top five most-watched telecasts on record.
OPEN SEASON: ABC yesterday drew a 0.8 overnight for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, which was the opening race for the Verizon IndyCar Series season. That figure is up from a 0.6 overnight last year for the same race on the same weekend, also on ABC.
The chart below lists overnight ratings from weekend sports telecasts on broadcast TV.
| TELECAST |
DATE
|
NET
|
TIME (ET)
|
RATING
|
| "World of X Games: WSL Surfing Quiksilver Pro" |
3/28
|
ABC
|
3:00-4:00pm
|
0.4
|
| "ESPN Sports Saturday" |
3/28
|
ABC
|
4:00-6:00pm
|
0.6
|
| PBR: Seattle Invitational |
3/28
|
CBS
|
2:00-3:00pm
|
0.6
|
NCAA D-II Basketball Championship:
Florida Southern-Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania |
3/28
|
CBS
|
3:00-5:15pm
|
0.9
|
| "Golf Digest Equipment Insider" |
3/28
|
NBC
|
2:00-3:00pm
|
0.3
|
| PGA Tour: Valero Texas Open: Third Round |
3/28
|
NBC
|
3:00-6:00pm
|
1.6
|
| World Figure Skating Championships |
3/28
|
NBC
|
8:00-10:00pm
|
1.6
|
| "NBA Countdown" |
3/29
|
ABC
|
12:00-12:30pm
|
0.9
|
| NBA: Rockets-Wizards |
3/29
|
ABC
|
12:30-3:00pm
|
n/a
|
Verizon IndyCar Series:
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg |
3/29
|
ABC
|
3:00-6:15pm
|
0.8
|
| "Road to the Final Four" |
3/29
|
CBS
|
1:00-2:15pm
|
1.9
|
| NCAA Tournament: Elite 8: Michigan State-Louisville |
3/29
|
CBS
|
2:15-5:00pm
|
7.6
|
| NCAA Tournament: Elite 8: Duke-Gonzaga |
3/29
|
CBS
|
5:00-7:15pm
|
9.9
|
| U.S. Alpine Championships: Super G |
3/29
|
NBC
|
1:30-3:00pm
|
0.4
|
| PGA Tour: Valero Texas Open: Final Round |
3/29
|
NBC
|
3:00-6:00pm
|
1.5
|
