Despite a blowout result, the FSU/Pittsburgh Labor Day game improved over the past two years. In other news, “Sunday Night Baseball” hit a season-low thanks to the Mets and Nationals, and NASCAR’s Nationwide Series stumbled in Atlanta.
Three-Year High, But Not By Much, For FSU/Pitt
- Monday’s Florida State/Pittsburgh college football game drew a 2.9 U.S. rating and 4.5 million viewers on ESPN, up a tick in ratings and 4% in viewership from Georgia Tech/Virginia Tech last year (2.8, 4.3M), and flat and up 2%, respectively, from Miami/Maryland in 2011 (2.9, 4.4M). The game ranks as the most-viewed Labor Day college football game since Boise State/Virginia Tech in 2010, which earned a much larger audience (9.9M). FSU/Pittsburgh was the third-most viewed game of opening week on any network. (ESPN Media Zone)
Mets, Nats, Send “Sunday Night Baseball” to Season-Low
- The Mets/Nationals “Sunday Night Baseball” game drew just 853,000 viewers on ESPN2 Sunday, easily the least-viewed Sunday night telecast of the season. The previous low was 1.0 million for a rain-delayed Rangers/Cardinals game that started at 11 PM ET. Sunday’s game aired opposite NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage on ESPN. (Sun. numbers from The Futon Critic)
Nationwide Series Down in Atlanta
- Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide series Great Clips/Grit Chips 300 from Atlanta earned a 1.0 U.S. rating and 1.6 million viewers on ESPN, down 17% in ratings and 19% in viewership from last year (1.2, 2.0M), and down 17% and 13%, respectively, from 2011 (1.2, 1.9M). This marks the least-viewed edition of the race since it moved to its current fall date in 2009. (ESPN)
