ESPN attracted mixed numbers for primetime college football action last Saturday.
ESPN drew a 1.2 U.S. rating and 1.8 million viewers for the Vanderbilt/South Carolina game Saturday night, down 61% in ratings and 63% in viewership from Florida/Tennessee in an earlier timeslot last year (3.1, 5.1M), and down 46% and 48%, respectively, from Ohio State/Miami in 2011 (2.2, 3.6M).
The telecast was topped by both Notre Dame/Purdue on ABC (3.0, 4.8M) and Ohio State/Cal on FOX (2.0, 3.3M).
Later in the night, Wisconsin/Arizona State drew a 1.6 and 2.5 million — up a tick in ratings and 5% in viewership from Texas/Mississippi last year (1.5, 2.4M), and flat and up 5%, respectively, compared to Stanford/Arizona in 2011 (1.6, 2.4M).
Wisconsin/Arizona State was the top college football telecast of the week on ESPN or ESPN2.
Earlier in the day, Nevada/Florida State drew a mere 0.7 and 1.1 million opposite Alabama/Texas A&M, and Louisville/Kentucky drew a 1.5 and 2.3 million.
ESPN2’s top telecast of the day was Mississippi State/Auburn (1.1, 1.9M), and the top ESPNU telecast was Kent State/LSU (0.3, 601K).
* CORRECTION 9/21: Vanderbilt/South Carolina had a 1.2 U.S. rating and 1.8 million viewers, not the 1.4 and 2.3 million previously reported. Those numbers were for the Thursday night TCU/Texas Tech game.
(Sat. numbers from Sports Business Daily, Son of the Bronx)
