The start of the college football season drew strong numbers on ABC Saturday.
The season premiere of Saturday Night Football, featuring Alabama vs. Virginia Tech, drew a 4.2/9 final rating and 7.1 million viewers on ABC — up 17% in ratings and 27% in viewers from last year (3.6/7 and 5.6 million), and up 27% and 43% from ’07 (3.3/7 and 4.9 million).
The 4.2 rating is the highest for the season debut of Saturday Night Football since Notre Dame/Georgia Tech drew a 5.4 in ’06.
Regional coverage earlier in the day, featuring Georgia/Oklahoma State, drew a 3.5/9 final rating, up 25% from a 2.8/7 last year, and up 46% from a 2.4/6 in ’07.
Overall, ABC averaged a 3.9 rating for its college football doubleheader on Saturday, up 22% from a 3.2 last year.
