The SEC title game was once again a big draw for CBS, but hit a three-year low in both ratings and viewership.
Last Saturday’s Alabama/Missouri SEC Championship Game drew a 7.8 final rating and 12.8 million viewers on CBS, down 9% in ratings and 11% in viewership from Auburn/Missouri last year (8.6, 14.3M) and down 20% and 21%, respectively, from Alabama/Georgia in 2012 (9.8, 16.2M).
Alabama’s win ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched SEC Championship Game since 2011, the last time neither Alabama nor Auburn played in the game (7.3, 12.0M). With that said, it also ranks as the fifth-highest rated SEC title game ever on CBS (14 telecasts dating back to 2001).
After failing to reach a 6.0 rating each year from 2002-07, the SEC title game has at least hit that mark every year dating back to 2008.
For the season, Alabama/Missouri drew the second-highest rating on any network, trailing only Notre Dame/Florida State on ABC in October (7.9). Viewership was the third-largest of the season, trailing Notre Dame/FSU (13.3M) and the Auburn/Alabama Iron Bowl on ESPN (13.5M).
CBS averaged a 4.0 rating for SEC football this season, down 11% from last year (4.5) but up a tick from 2010 (3.9). Keep in mind CBS missed out on the highly rated Iron Bowl this year, which as noted above aired on ESPN. Despite the lower number, CBS’ SEC coverage was the highest rated college football package on any network.
(Wknd. numbers and season avg. from CBS Sports)
