The final college football weekend of the year produced mixed numbers on ESPN. In other news, CBS had an impressive increase for college basketball on Sunday, and The Golf Channel had a near-record year in 2014.
Birmingham Bowl Up Big on ESPN
- The Florida/ECU Birmingham Bowl earned a 3.1 overnight on ESPN Saturday afternoon, up 63% from Vanderbilt/Houston last year (1.9) and up 55% from Pittsburgh/Mississippi in 2012 (2.0). The game likely benefited from running over into ESPN’s scheduled NFL pregame coverage. On Sunday, the Toledo/Arkansas State ‘GoDaddy’ Bowl drew a 0.8 overnight, down 27% from Arkansas State/Ball State last year (1.1) and down a third from Arkansas State/Kent State in 2012 (1.2). (via ShowBuzz Daily)
CBS Scores Strong Increase For Post-NFL Hoops
- Sunday’s UNLV/Kansas college basketball game drew a 2.5 overnight rating on CBS, up 32% from San Diego State/Kansas last year (1.9). The substantial increase came despite a weaker lead-in from the NFL playoffs, as CBS’ Bengals/Colts Wild Card game was down 9%. (via Sports Business Daily)
Golf Channel Has Second-Most Watched Year
- The Golf Channel averaged 98,000 viewers per total day in 2014, down 9% from 2013 (108K) but the network’s second-highest average ever. Golf Channel has had its four most-watched years ever since joining NBC Sports Group as part of Comcast’s 2011 takeover of NBC Universal. (NBC Sports Group Press Box)
