After two straight weeks of strong numbers, the third time was not the charm for college football on ESPN. In other news, FOX had a slight decline for its college football game on Saturday, while the network again failed to draw at least a 2.0 overnight for the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry.
Slow Saturday For College Football on ESPN
- ESPN’s top college football overnight of the weekend was a 1.7 for Wisconsin/Arizona State, Sports Business Daily reported Monday. To put that in perspective, the network’s previous six Saturday games this season each drew at least a 1.9, with five of the six earning at least a 2.9.
Slight Drop For Ohio State/Cal on FOX
- Saturday’s Ohio State/Cal college football game drew a 2.4 overnight rating on FOX, down a tick from Southern Cal/Stanford last year (2.5), but up 26% from West Virginia/Oklahoma the previous week (1.9). The game was outdrawn head-to-head by Notre Dame/Purdue on ABC (3.1).
For Second Straight Week, Yankees/Red Sox Weak on FOX
- Regional MLB action featuring Yankees/Red Sox in 84% of markets drew a 1.6 overnight on FOX Saturday afternoon, down 24% from coverage featuring Rays/Yankees last year (2.1), but up a third from coverage featuring Twins/Tigers in 2011 (1.2). This marks the second straight week that the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry has failed to attract at least a 2.0 overnight on FOX.
(Weekend numbers from Sports Business Daily)
