Everyone Still Likes Lists Right?
Here's one I thought you'd enjoy though. The Top Rated Sports Broadcasts of 2006 from Sports Business Daily:
| TOP TEN MOST-WATCHED NETWORK SPORTS PROGRAMS OF '06 (NON-NFL) | ||||||
| | NET | DATE | TIM | PROGRAM | RATING | HHs (000) |
| 1 | ABC | 1/4 | 8:17pm | Rose Bowl: USC-Texas (BCS Championship) | 21.7 | 23,907 |
| T2 | ABC | 11/18 | 3:25pm | NCAA Football: Michigan-Ohio State | 12.9 | 14,316 |
| T2 | ABC | 1/2 | 5:04pm | Fiesta Bowl: Notre Dame-Ohio State | 12.9 | 14,184 |
| 4 | ABC | 1/3 | 8:14pm | Orange Bowl: Penn State-Florida State | 12.2 | 13,490 |
| 5 | Fox | 10/22 | 8:22pm | World Series: Gm. 2: Cardinals-Tigers | 11.5 | 12,841 |
| 6 | NBC | 2/19 | 2:31pm | NASCAR Nextel Cup: Daytona 500 | 11.3 | 12,458 |
| 7 | CBS | 4/3 | 9:16pm | NCAA Basketball Nat'l Championship: UCLA-Florida | 11.2 | 12,294 |
| 8 | Fox | 10/19 | 8:17pm | NLCS: Gm. 7: Cardinals-Mets | 10.8 | 11,980 |
| 9 | Fox | 10/26 | 8:25pm | World Series: Gm. 4: Tigers-Cardinals | 10.4 | 11,620 |
| 10 | Fox | 10/27 | 8:26pm | World Series: Gm. 5: Tigers-Cardinals | 10.3 | 11,492 |
| TOP TEN MOST-WATCHED NETWORK SPORTS PROGRAMS OF '06 | ||||||
| RANK | NET | DATE | TIME | PROGRAM | RATING | HHs (000) |
| 1 | ABC | 2/5 | 6:26pm | Super Bowl XL: Seahawks-Steelers | 41.5 | 45,734 |
| 2 | CBS | 1/22 | 3:08pm | AFC Championship: Steelers-Broncos | 23.6 | 25,985 |
| 3 | ABC | 1/4 | 8:17pm | Rose Bowl: USC-Texas (BCS Championship) | 21.7 | 23,907 |
| 4 | CBS | 1/15 | 1:06pm | AFC Div. Playoff: Steelers-Colts | 20.9 | 23,051 |
| 5 | Fox | 1/22 | 6:47pm | NFC Championship: Panthers-Seahawks | 20.7 | 22,856 |
| 6 | Fox | 1/15 | 4:42pm | NFC Div. Playoff: Panthers-Bears | 19.7 | 21,718 |
| 7 | CBS | 1/8 | 4:37pm | AFC Wildcard: Steelers-Bengals | 18.9 | 20,854 |
| 8 | Fox | 12/3 | 4:29pm | NFL on Fox: Cowboys-Giants (89%) | 17.6 | 19,593 |
| 9 | CBS | 1/14 | 8:16pm | AFC Div. Playoff: Patriots-Broncos | 16.1 | 17,784 |
| 10 | Fox | 1/14 | 4:35pm | NFC Div. Playoff: Redskins-Seahawks | 15.8 | 17,394 |
| TOP TEN MOST-WATCHED CABLE SPORTS PROGRAMS OF '06 | |||||||
| RANK | NET | DATE | TIME | PROGRAM | U.S. AREA | COV. AREA | HHs (000) |
| 1 | ESPN | 10/23 | 8:30pm | "Monday Night Football": Giants-Cowboys | 10.5 | 12.7 | 11,726 |
| 2 | ESPN | 9/25 | 8:32pm | "Monday Night Football": Falcons-Saints | 9.7 | 11.7 | 10,776 |
| 3 | ESPN | 10/16 | 8:30pm | "Monday Night Football": Bears-Cardinals | 9.6 | 11.6 | 10,737 |
| 4 | ESPN | 9/18 | 8:30pm | "Monday Night Football": Steelers-Jaguars | 8.8 | 10.6 | 9,758 |
| 5 | ESPN | 10/9 | 8:30pm | "Monday Night Football": Ravens-Broncos | 8.5 | 10.2 | 9,417 |
| 6 | ESPN | 10/2 | 8:30pm | "Monday Night Football": Packers-Eagles | 8.4 | 10.1 | 9,349 |
| 7 | ESPN | 11/27 | 8:30pm | "Monday Night Football": Packers-Seahawks | 8.3 | 10.0 | 9,243 |
| 8 | ESPN | 9/11 | 7:00pm | "Monday Night Football": Vikings-Redskins | 8.2 | 9.9 | 9,107 |
| 9 | ESPN | 10/30 | 8:30pm | "Monday Night Football": Patriots-Vikings | 7.9 | 9.5 | 8,794 |
| 10 | ESPN | 12/11 | 8:30pm | "Monday Night Football": Bears-Rams | 7.6 | 9.2 | 8,490 |
| MOST-WATCHED CABLE SPORTS PROGRAMS OF '06 (NON-NFL) | |||||||
| RANK | NET | DATE | TIME | PROGRAM | U.S. AREA | COV. AREA | HHs (000) |
| 1 | ESPN | 9/4/06 | 8:00pm | NCAA Football: Florida State-Miami | 5.7 | 6.8 | 6,318 |
| 2 | TNT | 5/22/06 | 8:00pm | NBA: Western Conf. Semis: Gm. 7: Mavericks-Spurs | 4.7 | 5.7 | 5,169 |
| 3 | ESPN | 5/31/06 | 8:00pm | NBA: Eastern Conf. Finals: Gm. 5: Heat-Pistons | 4.5 | 5.5 | 4,971 |
| 4 | ESPN | 12/28/05 | 8:22pm | Alamo Bowl: Michigan-Nebraska | 4.4 | 5.4 | 4,876 |
| T5 | ESPN | 11/2/06 | 7:30pm | NCAA Football: West Virginia-Louisville | 4.4 | 5.3 | 4,902 |
| T5 | ESPN | 10/6/06 | 8:00pm | ALDS Gm. 3: Yankees-Tigers | 4.4 | 5.3 | 4,873 |
| T5 | ESPN | 6/2/06 | 8:09pm | NBA: Eastern Conf. Finals: Gm. 6: Pistons-Heat | 4.4 | 5.3 | 4,840 |
| T8 | ESPN | 12/30/05 | 7:30pm | Peach Bowl: Miami-LSU | 4.3 | 5.2 | 4,706 |
| T8 | TNT | 2/19/06 | 8:29pm | 06 NBA All-Star Game | 4.3 | 5.2 | 4,689 |
| T10 | TNT | 6/1/06 | 8:49pm | NBA: Western Conf. Finals: Gm. 5: Suns-Mavericks | 4.2 | 5.1 | 4,622 |
| T10 | TNT | 7/9/06 | 3:29pm | NASCAR Nextel Cup: USG Sheetrock 400 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 4,652 |
| T10 | ESPN | 12/29/05 | 8:06pm | Holiday Bowl: Oregon-Oklahoma | 4.1 | 5.1 | 4,556 |
If you were keeping count that's 24 Games for the ABC/Leader Combo, Fox had 7, and CBS came in with 5. ESPN proves that while everyone still hates them....they can't turn away. Something I like to call the "Howard Stern Effect".
(I apologize for the small font, but it was the only way it would fit. Click the SBD link above if you want a readable version)
