On New Year’s Day, the Rose Bowl on ABC more than doubled the Orange Bowl on FOX.
ABC drew a 12.6 overnight rating for USC’s win over Penn State Thursday, up 5% from a 12.0 for USC/Illinois in ’08. The 12.6 is the third-lowest overnight for the Rose Bowl since 2000, ahead of last year’s game and the 2003 game between Oklahoma and Washington State.
Meanwhile, FOX began its BCS coverage with a thud. The Orange Bowl between Cincinnati and Virginia Tech drew a mere 6.1 overnight rating, down 23% from a 7.9 for last year’s Sugar Bowl, which also aired on New Year’s Day.
The 6.1 overnight is the lowest ever for a BCS Bowl, falling below the previous record low of 7.6 for the 2007 Orange Bowl between Louisville and Wake Forest.
