Ratings were down, but strong, for the Champs Sports and Holiday Bowls.
The December 29 Wisconsin/Miami Champs Sports Bowl drew a 3.9 U.S. rating and 6.2 million viewers on ESPN, down 13% and 12%, respectively, from last year’s Florida St./Wisconsin game (4.5, 7.1 mil).
The following night, the Nebraska/Arizona Holiday Bowl drew a 3.7 U.S. rating and 6.1 million viewers — off 5% and 1%, respectively, from last year’s Oregon/Oklahoma St. game (3.9, 6.2 mil).
Despite the declines, both games were up in viewership compared to 2008 — the Champs Sports Bowl was up 61%, while the Holiday Bowl was up 8%.
Elsewhere, the New Year’s Eve Navy/Missouri Texas Bowl drew a 2.1 U.S. rating and 3.2 million viewers on ESPN, up 1,616% in viewership from last year’s Western Michigan/Rice tilt on NFL Network (186,000 viewers).
And the December 28 Georgia/Texas A&M Independence Bowl drew a 2.0 U.S. rating and 3.3 million viewers on ESPN2, up 171% in viewership from last year’s Louisiana Tech/Northern Illinois matchup (1.2 mil).
