The season is still young, but college football coverage has not performed very well for ABC.
Regional college football action featuring Nebraska/Washington drew a 2.6 final rating and 4.159 million viewers on ABC last Saturday afternoon, down 16% and 13%, respectively, from last year (USC/WSH*: 3.1, 4.754 mil).
This marks the fourth time in five games that ABC has drawn less than a 3.0 rating for college football action. By comparison, none of the first five games on ABC last year dipped below a 3.0.
Additionally, this is the fourth of five games to have a double-digit decline from last year in both ratings and viewership.
The only exception to ABC’s ratings woes is last week’s edition of Saturday Night Football, which featured either Texas/Texas Tech or Notre Dame/Michigan State. As reported earlier this week, that telecast drew a 4.7 rating and 7.528 million viewers, up 15% and 13%, respectively, from last year’s comparable action.
Asterisk (*) indicates featured game of window.
Ratings/Viewership For College Football on ABC This Season
Rankings at time of game included.
| Date | Time | Game(s) | % of U.S. | Net | Rating | vs. ’09 | Viewers (000) | vs. ’09 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., 9/4/10 | 3:30 PM | Connecticut/Michigan | 48% | ABC |
2.7
|
-23%
|
4,224
|
-25%
|
| UCLA/Kansas State | 34% | |||||||
| Kentucky/Louisville | 18% | |||||||
| 8 PM | #21 LSU/#18 UNC | — | ABC |
2.7
|
-36%
|
4,302
|
-39%
|
|
| Sat., 9/11/10 | 3:30 PM | #17 FSU/#10 OU | 92% | ABC |
2.4
|
-54%
|
3,838
|
-54%
|
| Iowa State/#9 Iowa | 8% | |||||||
| Sat., 9/18/10 | 3:30 PM | #8 Nebraska/Wash. | 51% | ABC |
2.6
|
-16%
|
4,159
|
-13%
|
| #1 Alabama/Duke | 28% | |||||||
| ASU/Wisconsin | 21% | |||||||
| 8 PM | #6 Texas/TTU | 54% | ABC |
4.7
|
15%
|
7,528
|
13%
|
|
| Notre Dame/MSU | 46% |
(Ratings from Sports Business Daily)
