The last two college football champions sent television ratings in opposite directions last weekend.
Last Saturday’s West Virginia/Alabama college football game drew a 4.0 final rating and 6.4 million viewers on ABC, up 67% in ratings and 74% in viewership from regional action last year (2.4, 3.7M), up 74% and 85%, respectively, from regional action in 2012 (2.3, 3.5M), and the network’s highest rated afternoon game on the opening weekend of the season since Penn State/USC in 2000 (4.6).
Alabama’s win was the highest rated and most-watched game of week one, crushing competing coverage of Rice/Notre Dame on NBC (1.3, 2.1M).
The Florida State/Oklahoma State nightcap drew a 3.8 and 6.0 million viewers, down 21% in ratings and 26% in viewership from Georgia/Clemson last year (4.8, 8.1M), down 21% and 24%, respectively, from Michigan/Alabama in 2012 (4.8, 7.9M), and the lowest rated and least-viewed Saturday Night Football opener since LSU/UNC in 2010 (2.7, 4.3M).
Despite the decline, FSU’s win also crushed competing coverage head-to-head — blowing out Fresno State/USC on FOX (0.8, 1.3M) and finishing comfortably ahead of Wisconsin/LSU on ESPN (2.8, 4.7M).
(Wknd. numbers from Sports Business Daily)
