TIGER WINS, BUT RATINGS TAMED: NBC’s weekend coverage of the Ford Championship at Doral, featuring a Tiger Woods victory, averaged 4.54 million households, down 4.3 percent from the network’s 2005 coverage. More than 4.07 million households tuned in for Saturday’s third-round coverage, that round’s biggest audience since 1985. Sunday’s final round was watched by 5.01 million households, down 16.5 percent from last year.
| Top 10 Network Sports Telecasts |
| Rank | Net. | Program | Date | Rating | Share | Households Watching
(000s) |
| 1 | NBC | PGA: FORD CHAMP. AT DORAL (FINAL ROUND) | 3/5 | 4.5 | 10 | 5,012 |
| 2 | NBC | PGA: FORD CHAMP. AT DORAL (THIRD ROUND) | 3/4 | 3.7 | 9 | 4,074 |
| 3 | FOX | NASCAR: BUSCH SERIES TELCEL-MOTOROLA 200 | 3/5 | 3.4 | 8 | 3,784 |
| 4 | CBS | NCAA BASKETBAL: VILLANOVA-SYRAC./FLA.-KY. | 3/5 | 2.2 | 6 | 2,387 |
| 5 | ABC | NBA: PHOENIX-DALLAS | 3/5 | 2.0 | 4 | 2,255 |
| 6 | CBS | NCAA BASKETBALL: LOUISVILLE-UCONN | 3/4 | 1.8 | 5 | 1,957 |
| 7 | NBC | SPECIAL: AMERICAN CUP GYMNASTICS | 3/4 | 1.6 | 5 | 1,785 |
| 8 | CBS | NCAA BASKETBALL: ILLINOIS-MICHIGAN STATE | 3/4 | 1.6 | 5 | 1,776 |
| 9 | ABC | NBA: INDIANA-PHILADELPHIA | 3/5 | 1.6 | 4 | 1,709 |
| 10 | CBS | NCAA BASKETBALL: UCLA-STANF./N.C. ST.-WAKE F. | 3/4 | 1.4 | 3 | 1,568 |
TOBACCO ROAD HIGH: ESPN’s Saturday prime-time North Carolina-Duke game set a record for the largest men’s college basketball audience in ESPN’s 26-year history, drawing an average of 3.13 million households. The game was also the network’s fourth most-watched basketball game of any kind. It generated cable’s ninth-biggest audience of the week and topped sister network ABC’s prime time offering of “A Beautiful Mind” by 50,000 households.
| Top 10 Cable Sports Telecasts |
| | | | (RATING) | | |
| Rank | Net | Program | Date | National | Cov. Area | Share | Households Watching
(000s) |
| 1 | ESPN | NCAA BASKETBALL: NORTH CAROLINA-DUKE | 3/4 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 6 | 3,134 |
| 2 | ESPN | NCAA BASKETBALL: DUKE-FLORIDA STATE | 3/1 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 3 | 1,654 |
| 3 | ESPN | SPORTSCENTER LATE (11 P.M. ET) | 3/4 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 3 | 1,449 |
| 4 | TNT | NBA: DALLAS-SAN ANTONIO | 3/2 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 3 | 1,416 |
| 5 | ESPN | NCAA BASKETBALL: PITTSBURGH-WEST VIRGINIA | 2/27 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2 | 1,177 |
| 6 | ESPN | COLLEGE GAMEDAY (8 P.M. ET) | 3/4 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 2 | 1,139 |
| 7 | ESPN | NCAA BASKETBALL: OKLAHOMA ST.-OKLAHOMA | 2/27 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 2 | 1,103 |
| 8 | ESPN | NBA: PHILADELPHIA-HOUSTON | 3/1 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2 | 1,011 |
| 9 | ESPN | NCAA BASKETBALL: ILLINOIS-MINNESOTA | 2/28 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2 | 980 |
| 10 | SPIKE | ULTIMATE FIGHTER UNLEASHED | 2/27 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2 | 969 |
Rating — Estimated percent of all TV households of persons tuned to a specific program source. One ratings point equals 1,102,000 homes.
Share — Estimated percent of all households using television at that time which are tuned to a specific program source.
Source: Nielsen Media Research
