Overnight ratings dropped substantially for college football on FOX Saturday night. In other news, ESPN suffered big declines for college football and college basketball over the weekend.
- K-State/TCU Down Big From Previous Week: Saturday’s Kansas State/TCU college football game drew a 1.9 overnight rating on FOX, down 46% from Southern Cal/Oregon the previous week (3.5), but up 12% from Kansas State/West Virginia three weeks ago (1.7). Earlier in the day, Oregon State/Stanford drew a 1.0 — even with TCU/West Virginia the previous week (1.0) and down 23% from Texas Tech/Kansas State two weeks earlier (1.3). (Weekend numbers from Sports Business Daily)
- Big Decline For ESPN’s Noon ET Game: The Noon ET Northwestern/Michigan college football game drew a 1.9 overnight rating on ESPN Saturday, down 50% from Nebraska/Penn State in the same window last year (3.8). Keep in mind last year’s game was the first for Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Later Saturday, Mississppi State/Louisiana State drew a 1.5 overnight, and Oregon/California scored a 2.4. (Weekend numbers from the Houston Chronicle)
- Armed Forces Classic Down Big: ESPN drew 1.284 million viewers for the Michigan State/Connecticut “Armed Forces Classic” college basketball game Friday evening, down 67% from the same matchup in the “Carrier Classic” last year (3.859M). Last year’s game aired in a later timeslot. Also Friday night, the Kentucky/Maryland game drew 1.688 million. (Friday’s numbers from TV By the Numbers)
