The NASCAR Pepsi 500 with 5.638 million viewers just beat out preseason NFL for the top spot this week. That’s the last time NFL football won’t dominate this list for about the next 5 months.
| Rank | Programs | Network | Persons Live+SD (000) | Adults 18-49 Live+SD (000) |
| 1 | NASCAR SPRINT CUP PEPSI 500 | ESPN | 5,638 | n/a |
| 2 | SAT NIGHT FOOTBALL | ABC | 5,599 | 2,534 |
| 3 | SAT NIGHT FTBL PRE-GAME | ABC | 4,153 | 1,583 |
| 4 | ABC COLLEGE FTBL GM-LATE | ABC | 4,110 | 1,911 |
| 5 | WWE RAW | SCIFI | 4,091 | n/a |
| 6 | NFL PRE-SEASON (SEAHAWKS/CHARGERS) | ESPN | 4,005 | n/a |
| 7 | FRIDAY NIGHT SMACKDOWN | CW | 3,703 | 1,666 |
| 8 | NBC NFL PRE-SEASON 8/28 | NBC | 2,796 | 1,081 |
| 9 | FOX SATURDAY BASEBALL | FOX | 2,408 | 915 |
| 10 | DEUTSCHE GOLF CHAMP-SUN 8/31 | NBC | 1,999 | 499 |
| 11 | US OPEN TENNIS-SUN-08/31 | CBS | 1,710 | 645 |
| 12 | US OPEN TENNIS-SAT-08/30 | CBS | 1,656 | 554 |
| 13 | COLLEGE FOOTBALL COUNTDOWN | ABC | 1,442 | 668 |
| 14 | DETROIT INDYCAR GRND PRIX-08/31 | ABC | 1,266 | 466 |
| 15 | NBC SPORTS SPECIAL 8/31 | NBC | 1,079 | 433 |
| 16 | FUTBOL LIGA MEXICANA SUN | UNI | 914 | 552 |
| 17 | FUTBOL LIGA MEX WED | TF | 863 | 634 |
| 18 | FUTBOL LIGA MEXICAN SUN | TF | 792 | 495 |
| 19 | NBC ACTION SPORTS TOUR-SA | NBC | 775 | 299 |
| 20 | REPUBLICA DEPORTIVA SUN | UNI | 731 | 466 |
Our Sports Ratings combine the top Broadcast sports shows and any cable sports shows that appeared in the top 40 cable programs. It is possible that a cable sports show that had enough viewers to make this list is left off because it didn’t have enough viewers to make the list of the top 40 cable programs for the week which is all we have access to.
Note: We don’t have access to adults 18-49 viewership for cable programs.
Nielsen Ratings Data: ©2008 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Why were there no sport’s ratings published from July 14-20 to Aug 25-31?
Andrew, I was on vacation from late July to late August.