Ratings and viewership for college football’s Orange Bowl, dating back to 1986 and 2001, respectively.
The Orange Bowl has been easily the worst television draw of the BCS in recent seasons, with the last two games ranking as the two of the three lowest rated BCS bowls of all-time. Even with the recent downturn in ratings, no Orange Bowl in the BCS era has fallen as low as the 1993 game — which drew a mere 4.0 rating on NBC.
Orange Bowl Ratings Dating Back to 1986 (Viewership Since 2001)
Asterisk (*) indicates national championship game, or game that involved eventual national champion.
| Season | Date | Game | Net | Rating | Viewers (000) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2009-10
|
Tue., 1/5/10 | IOWA 24, GT 14 | FOX |
6.8
|
10,879
|
|
2008-09
|
Thu., 1/1/09 | VT 20, CIN 7 | FOX |
5.4
|
9,319
|
|
2007-08
|
Thu., 1/3/08 | KU 24, VT 21 | FOX |
7.4
|
11,958
|
|
2006-07
|
Tue., 1/2/07 | LOU 24, WF 13 | FOX |
7.0
|
10,660
|
|
2005-06
|
Tue., 1/3/06 | PSU 26, FSU 23 | ABC |
12.3
|
18,557
|
|
2004-05
|
Tue., 1/4/05 | USC 55, OK 19* | ABC |
13.7
|
21,419
|
|
2003-04
|
Thu., 1/1/04 | MIA 16, FSU 14 | ABC |
9.1
|
14,183
|
|
2002-03
|
Thu., 1/2/03 | USC 38, IOWA 17 | ABC |
9.7
|
15,235
|
|
2001-02
|
Wed., 1/2/02 | UF 56, MD 23 | ABC |
9.5
|
14,027
|
|
2000-01
|
Wed., 1/3/01 | OK 13, FSU 2* | ABC |
17.8
|
27,240
|
|
1999-00
|
Sat., 1/1/00 | MICH 35, ALA 34 | ABC |
11.4
|
n/a
|
|
1998-99
|
Sat., 1/2/99 | UF 31, SYR 10 | ABC |
8.4
|
n/a
|
|
1997-98
|
Fri., 1/2/98 | NEB 42, TEN 17* | CBS |
13.3
|
n/a
|
|
1996-97
|
Tue., 12/31/96 | NEB 41, VT 21 | CBS |
7.8
|
n/a
|
|
1995-96
|
Mon., 1/1/96 | FSU 31, ND 26 | CBS |
12.5
|
n/a
|
|
1994-95
|
Sun., 1/1/95 | NEB 24, MIA 17* | NBC |
11.4
|
n/a
|
|
1993-94
|
Sat., 1/1/94 | FSU 18, NEB 16* | NBC |
17.8
|
n/a
|
|
1992-93
|
Fri., 1/1/93 | FSU 27, NEB 14 | NBC |
4.0
|
n/a
|
|
1991-92
|
Wed., 1/1/92 | MIA 22, NEB 0* | NBC |
11.0
|
n/a
|
|
1990-91
|
Tue., 1/1/91 | COL 10, ND 9* | NBC |
18.3
|
n/a
|
|
1989-90
|
Mon., 1/1/90 | ND 21, COL 6 | NBC |
18.5
|
n/a
|
|
1988-89
|
Mon., 1/2/89 | MIA 23, NEB 3 | NBC |
12.9
|
n/a
|
|
1987-88
|
Fri., 1/1/88 | MIA 20, OK 14* | NBC |
20.8
|
n/a
|
|
1986-87
|
Thu., 1/1/87 | OK 42, ARK 8 | NBC |
16.0
|
n/a
|
|
1985-86
|
Wed., 1/1/86 | OK 25, PSU 10* | NBC |
21.3
|
n/a
|
(Pre-1996 ratings from “Unraveling yields inefficient matchings: evidence from post-season college football bowls,” RAND Journal of Economics)
