The season debut of Saturday Night Football managed a modest increase in overnight ratings on ABC.
The Wisconsin/Alabama Saturday Night Football game drew a 4.3 overnight rating on ABC, up 5% from Florida State/Oklahoma State last year (4.1) but down 14% from Clemson/Georgia in 2013 (5.0). Though up from last year, the 4.3 is the second-lowest for ABC’s Saturday night opener since 2010.
The Crimson Tide’s easy win was the highest rated college football game of the weekend in the metered markets. Head-to-head, it topped NBC’s competing Texas/Notre Dame telecast by 65% (4.3 to 2.6).
Birmingham was the top market with a 46.7 rating, the market’s highest for a regular season game on ABC since at least 2004. Milwaukee ranked second with a 17.6, with Nashville third (11.9) and Atlanta and Columbus, GA, rounding out the top five (11.5 in each).
(Sat. numbers from ESPN)
