The Armed Forces Bowl had a double-digit increase in viewership.
The Houston/Pittsburgh Armed Forces Bowl drew 2.1 million viewers on ESPN Friday afternoon, up 28% from Navy/Middle Tennessee State last year (1.7M) but down 36% from Rice/Air Force in 2012 (3.3M). Ratings for the game were not immediately available.
The Cougars’ record-setting comeback ranks as the second-most watched Armed Forces Bowl in the past five seasons, trailing only the 2012-13 game.
Despite the double-digit increase, the Armed Forces Bowl was easily the least-watched of day. The other three bowl games on Friday each topped the four million mark. Overall, it was the least-watched bowl game since the Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve, more than a week earlier.
(Fri. numbers from ShowBuzz Daily)
