The media storm surrounding Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel resulted in solid numbers for ESPN.
Saturday’s Rice/Texas A&M college football game earned a 2.9 overnight rating on ESPN, up 16% from Ohio/Penn State in an earlier timeslot last year (2.5). Manziel was suspended for the first half of the game due to an NCAA violation. Keep in mind last year’s game also attracted greater than usual attention, though for far more serious reasons — it was the first PSU game since the release of The Freeh Report.
Despite the strong numbers, Rice/Texas A&M was not the top game of the day on ESPN. That honor went to Alabama/Virginia Tech, which earned a 3.1 overnight — up 55% from Bowling Green/Florida in an earlier slot last year (2.0).
ESPN’s LSU/TCU nightcap drew a 1.9 overnight, actually down 14% from Clemson/Auburn in an earlier slot last year (2.2).
Over on ESPN2, the early Buffalo/Ohio State game drew a 1.5 overnight — up 150% from Northwestern/Syracuse last year (0.6). Meanwhile, the late night Northwestern/California game drew a 0.6, down 63% from Arkansas State/Oregon on ESPN last year (1.6).
Based on information from an ESPN press release, no competing cable network (i.e., Fox Sports 1) topped a 0.5 overnight for college football action on Saturday.
(Sat. numbers from ESPN Media Zone)
