Opposite games on ABC and NBC, Fox Sports came away with a victory in the overnight ratings Saturday night.
Saturday’s West Virginia/Texas college football game drew a 3.2 overnight rating on FOX, up 14% from Texas/Oklahoma State the previous week (2.8), and up 88% from Kansas State/Oklahoma two weeks ago (1.7).
The 3.2 overnight is the highest yet for college football on FOX, surpassing the previous high set by Texas/Oklahoma State.
The telecast barely edged “Saturday Night Football” on ABC (3.1), and finished comfortably ahead of Miami/Notre Dame on NBC (2.4). This marks the second consecutive Saturday night that FOX has attracted the largest overnight rating for college football on broadcast.
Of course, even though FOX won in the overnights last week, ABC attracted a higher rating and more viewers when the final ratings were released. Considering that ABC was only one tenth behind FOX this Saturday, it would not be unlikely to see a similar turnaround in this week’s finals.
Also on Saturday, the very first afternoon college football telecast on FOX — Arizona against Stanford — drew a 1.0 overnight.
The 1.0 was the lowest of the weekend for college football on network television. Even Navy/Air Force on CBS, with an 11:30 AM ET start, drew a 1.2 overnight
(Saturday’s numbers from Sports Business Daily)
