Even absent a classic finish, the Iron Bowl generated a large television audience.
Saturday’s Auburn/Alabama Iron Bowl drew a 7.4 final rating and 13.5 million viewers on ESPN, up 118% in ratings and 137% in viewership from Texas A&M/Missouri last year (3.4, 5.7M) and the network’s most-watched regular season college football game on record. The previous high was 10.6 million for a September 2009 game between USC and Ohio State.
Alabama’s win also ranks as the most-watched game of the season on any network, topping the previous high of 13.3 million for Notre Dame/Florida State on ABC in October. Not including conference championship games, this is the second straight year that the Iron Bowl has been the most-watched regular season telecast.
The 7.4 rating is the second-highest of the season, trailing a 7.9 for Notre Dame/FSU. Overall, the Crimson Tide have played in two of the season’s three highest rated and most-watched games.
Despite the impressive numbers, the game could not quite match last year’s Iron Bowl on broadcast network CBS (8.2, 13.9M). That game, of course, was a battle of top five teams that concluded with one of the greatest finishes in college football history. Auburn entered this year’s game out of the top ten and lost by double figures.
Keep in mind Saturday’s numbers do not include a simulcast that aired on the non-Nielsen rated SEC Network.
(Sat. numbers from twitter.com/mikehumesespn)
