The New Year’s Day bowl games were major duds on ABC, CBS and FOX.
With the lone exception of the Capital One Bowl, ratings for every bowl game on broadcast television New Year’s Day were down significantly.
The Rose Bowl between USC and Illinois fell 17% on ABC, to a 12.0 from a 14.5 last year. The 12.0 overnight marks the lowest overnight for a Rose Bowl broadcast since Washington State/Oklahoma drew an 11.3 in 2003.
The Sugar Bowl saw a larger drop. The game, which featured a blowout of Hawaii by Georgia, drew a 7.9 overnight on FOX — the lowest overnight for the Sugar Bowl since at least 2003. The 7.9 marks a 19% drop from the 9.8 overnight the Sugar Bowl drew last year, when the game featured LSU and Notre Dame. Compared to the game on New Year’s night in ’07, the 7.9 marks an 11% drop from the 8.9 for the Boise State/Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl.
Ratings for the Cotton Bowl were also off from last year. The game, which featured Missouri blowing out Arkansas, drew a 3.4 overnight on FOX, down 13% from last year. All of the bowl games on broadcast drew a better rating than the NHL Winter Classic on NBC, which is to be expected; the Gator Bowl finished closest to the Sabres/Penguins game, drawing a 2.7 overnight on CBS.
While most of the bowl games saw major declines, the Capital One Bowl was an undisputed hit. The game featured two of the marquee programs in college football, and was proof positive of their respective drawing power. Michigan/Florida drew a 9.9 overnight, up 71% from a 5.8 last year, and easily the highest rating for a non-BCS bowl game this year. The last time the Capital One Bowl drew a final rating higher than 6.0 was 2004, when Georgia/Purdue drew an 8.0.
Overnight ratings from New Year’s Day.
12.0: Rose Bowl: USC/Illinois (5 PM Tuesday)
9.9: Capital One Bowl on ABC, Michigan/Florida (1 PM Tuesday)
7.9: Sugar Bowl on FOX, Hawaii/Georgia (8:30 PM Tuesday)
3.4: Cotton Bowl on FOX, Missouri/Arkansas (11:30 AM Tuesday)
2.7: Gator Bowl on CBS, Texas Tech/Virginia (1 PM Tuesday)
2.6: NHL on NBC, Winter Classic: Penguins/Sabres (1 PM Tuesday)
