Weekend Days Give Goodwill Games Their Largest Audience in the Ratings

Early indications are that the Goodwill Games, as a television attraction, will do well on weekend days but will not fare as well against prime-time competition.

Channel 5’s coverage on Saturday, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., drew a solid 7.1 Nielsen rating in Los Angeles with a 21 share of the audience. That block of coverage included the opening ceremony.

Prime-time coverage on Channel 5 Saturday night from 7 to 10 got a 4.6 rating with an 8 share, whereas the 11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. coverage drew only a 1.8 and a 6 share.

WTBS’ ratings for the Goodwill Games were not available Monday.

Other L.A. ratings for sports on Saturday included a 7.1 for a St. Louis Cardinals-San Francisco Giants baseball game on Channel 4 and a 4.7 for the women’s final at Wimbledon on Channel 4.

On Sunday, the Goodwill Games on Channel 5 drew Nielsen ratings of 6.8 (9 a.m.-noon), 6.1 (3-5 p.m.), 2.3 (7-10 p.m.) and 2.9 (11:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.). Meanwhile, the Angel-Toronto game on Channel 5 at noon Sunday drew an 8.5 and a 23 share, the men’s final at Wimbledon on Channel 4 drew a 5.9 and a 17 share and the final round of the Greater Hartford Open golf tournament got a 5.1 with a 13 share.