The Bowl Championship Series and games involving the Southeastern Conference earned the largest audiences during the 2012-13 bowl season.
As is always the case, the BCS National Championship Game earned the top audience of the bowl season [see chart]. Alabama’s blowout win over Notre Dame drew a 15.1 U.S. rating and 26.4 million viewers on ESPN, the largest audience for any bowl game in two years.
The Stanford/Wisconsin Rose Bowl (9.4, 17.0M) and Oregon/Kansas State Fiesta Bowl (7.4, 12.3M) ranked second and third, respectively.
Rounding out the top five were two non-BCS bowls. The Texas A&M/Oklahoma Cotton Bowl ranked fourth with a 7.2 rating and 11.9 million viewers on FOX, while the Georgia/Nebraska Capital One Bowl scored a 6.6 and 11.0 million on ABC.
Of the top ten bowl games this season, nine were either BCS bowls or games that involved an SEC team.
The Oklahoma State/Purdue Heart of Dallas Bowl was the lowest rated and least-viewed game of the bowl season, earning a 0.5 U.S. rating and 943,000 viewers on ESPNU. In a close second was the Arizona State/Navy Fight Hunger Bowl, with a 0.7 and 1.1 million on ESPN2.
2012-13 College Football Bowl TV Ratings
With comparisons to the past three seasons
* UPDATE 1/11: Ratings/viewership for the December 31 Sun Bowl on CBS added to chart.
| Date | Bowl | Net | 2012-13 | 2011-12 | 2010-11 | 2009-10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon., 1/7/13 | BCS Nat’l Champ. Gm.: Alabama/Notre Dame |
ESPN |
15.1 (26.4M)
|
14.0 (24.2M)
|
15.3 (27.3M)
|
17.2 (30.8M)
|
| Tue., 1/1/13 | Rose: Stanford/Wisconsin |
ESPN |
9.4 (17.0M)
|
10.2 (17.6M)
|
11.3 (20.6M)
|
13.2 (24.0M)
|
| Thu., 1/3/13 | Fiesta: Oregon/Kansas State |
ESPN |
7.4 (12.3M)
|
8.4 (13.7M)
|
6.2 (10.8M)
|
8.2 (13.8M)
|
| Fri., 1/4/13 | Cotton: Texas A&M/Oklahoma |
FOX |
7.2 (11.9M)
|
5.0 (8.4M)
|
5.8 (10.0M)
|
4.5 (7.3M)
|
| Tue., 1/1/13 | Capital One: Georgia/Nebraska |
ABC |
6.6 (11.0M)
|
2.9 (4.5M)
|
3.7 (6.0M)
|
6.8 (11.6M)
|
| Wed., 1/2/13 | Sugar: Louisville/Florida |
ESPN |
6.2 (10.1M)
|
6.1 (9.7M)
|
8.2 (13.6M)
|
8.5 (15.5M)
|
| Tue., 1/1/13 | Orange: FSU/Northern Illinois |
ESPN |
6.1 (10.6M)
|
4.5 (7.2M)
|
6.7 (10.7M)
|
6.8 (10.9M)
|
| Mon., 12/31/12 | Peach: Clemson/LSU |
ESPN |
4.8 (8.6M)
|
3.6 (6.2M)
|
4.3 (7.5M)
|
4.2 (7.5M)
|
| Tue., 1/1/13 | Outback: South Carolina/Michigan |
ESPN |
4.3 (7.6M)
|
5.1 (8.2M)
|
7.1 (12.4M)
|
3.5 (5.7M)
|
| Sat., 12/29/12 | Alamo: Texas/Oregon State |
ESPN |
4.1 (6.7M)
|
4.4 (6.9M)
|
2.8 (4.6M)
|
4.8 (7.8M)
|
| Sat., 12/29/12 | Pinstripe: Syracuse/West Virginia |
ESPN |
3.4 (5.1M)
|
2.1 (3.2M)
|
2.3 (3.5M)
|
no game
|
| Fri., 12/28/12 | Texas: Texas Tech/Minnesota |
ESPN |
2.9 (4.6M)
|
2.7 (3.9M)
|
2.7 (4.2M)
|
2.1 (3.2M)
|
| Sat., 12/22/12 | Las Vegas: Boise State/Washington |
ESPN |
2.9 (4.4M)
|
2.1 (3.1M)
|
3.3 (5.4M)
|
2.2 (3.5M)
|
| Sat., 12/29/12 | Buffalo Wild Wings: Michigan State/TCU |
ESPN |
2.7 (4.4M)
|
3.0 (4.8M)
|
2.2 (3.6M)
|
0.4 (673K)
|
| Mon., 12/31/12 | Sun: Georgia Tech/USC |
CBS |
2.7 (4.0M)
|
2.7 (4.1M)
|
3.0 (4.6M)
|
3.3 (5.0M)
|
| Thu., 12/27/12 | Belk: Cincinnati/Duke |
ESPN |
2.6 (3.9M)
|
2.2 (3.5M)
|
2.0 (2.9M)
|
3.9 (6.1M)
|
| Fri., 12/28/12 | Russell Athletic: Virginia Tech/Rutgers |
ESPN |
2.5 (3.9M)
|
3.3 (5.2M)
|
2.1 (3.3M)
|
3.9 (6.2M)
|
| Sat., 12/29/12 | Armed Forces: Rice/Air Force |
ESPN |
2.3 (3.3M)
|
1.4 (2.0M)
|
1.3 (1.9M)
|
1.6 (2.2M)
|
| Thu., 12/27/12 | Holiday: Baylor/UCLA |
ESPN |
2.0 (2.9M)
|
2.7 (4.3M)
|
3.5 (5.7M)
|
3.7 (6.1M)
|
| Sat., 12/15/12 | Famous Idaho Potato: Utah State/Toledo |
ESPN |
1.9 (2.8M)
|
1.7 (2.4M)
|
1.8 (2.9M)
|
2.1 (3.0M)
|
| Sat., 1/5/13 | BBVA Compass: Mississippi/Pittsburgh |
ESPN |
1.9 (2.7M)
|
1.5 (2.0M)
|
2.2 (3.3M)
|
1.6 (2.4M)
|
| Wed., 12/26/12 | Little Ceasars: C. Michigan/W. Kentucky |
ESPN |
1.8 (2.7M)
|
1.7 (2.5M)
|
1.4 (2.2M)
|
2.6 (3.8M)
|
| Sat., 12/22/12 | New Orleans: UL-Lafayette/ECU |
ESPN |
1.8 (2.6M)
|
1.6 (2.3M)
|
1.3 (2.1M)
|
0.7 (993K)
|
| Sat., 12/15/12 | New Mexico: Arizona/Nevada |
ESPN |
1.8 (2.6M)
|
1.5 (2.2M)
|
1.8 (2.8M)
|
2.4 (3.6M)
|
| Mon., 12/31/12 | Liberty: Tulsa/Iowa State |
ESPN |
1.7 (2.7M)
|
1.9 (3.0M)
|
3.0 (4.8M)
|
3.8 (6.4M)
|
| Thu., 12/20/12 | Poinsettia: BYU/San Diego State |
ESPN |
1.5 (2.2M)
|
2.1 (3.1M)
|
2.3 (3.6M)
|
2.4 (3.7M)
|
| Mon., 12/24/12 | Hawaii: SMU/Fresno State |
ESPN |
1.4 (2.4M)
|
1.4 (2.5M)
|
2.1 (3.7M)
|
1.7 (2.9M)
|
| Tue., 1/1/13 | Gator: Northwestern/Miss. St. |
ESPN2 |
1.4 (2.2M)
|
1.9 (2.9M)
|
1.7 (2.8M)
|
3.9 (6.4M)
|
| Mon., 12/31/12 | Music City: Vanderbilt/N.C. State |
ESPN |
1.4 (2.0M)
|
2.7 (4.2M)
|
4.2 (7.1M)
|
1.7 (2.8M)
|
| Sun., 1/6/13 | GoDaddy.com: Arkansas St./Kent St. |
ESPN |
1.3 (1.9M)
|
1.2 (1.8M)
|
1.7 (2.6M)
|
2.4 (3.5M)
|
| Thu., 12/27/12 | Military: SJSU/Bowling Green |
ESPN |
1.3 (1.9M)
|
1.5 (2.3M)
|
1.5 (2.1M)
|
1.9 (2.8M)
|
| Fri., 12/21/12 | St. Petersburg: UCF/Ball State |
ESPN |
1.3 (1.9M)
|
1.5 (2.2M)
|
2.0 (3.0M)
|
1.6 (2.5M)
|
| Fri., 12/28/12 | Independence: Ohio/UL-Monroe |
ESPN |
1.3 (1.7M)
|
1.5 (2.5M)
|
1.4 (2.2M)
|
2.0 (3.3M)
|
| Sat., 12/29/12 | Fight Hunger: Arizona State/Navy |
ESPN2 |
0.7 (1.1M)
|
2.3 (3.5M)
|
1.6 (2.5M)
|
4.6 (7.6M)
|
| Tue., 1/1/13 | Heart of Dallas: Oklahoma St./Purdue |
ESPNU |
0.5 (943K)
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
no game
|
CORRECTION: The original post mixed up the Northwestern/Mississippi State Gator Bowl and the Oklahoma State/Purdue Heart of Dallas Bowl.
(Bowl numbers from a variety of sources, including ESPN, Media Life Magazine, Son of the Bronx; Sun Bowl numbers from Sports Business Daily)
