ABC scored its second-largest audience for a Saturday Night Football opener in nine years.
Saturday’s Wisconsin/Alabama college football game drew a 4.3 final rating and 8.0 million viewers on ABC, up 13% in ratings and 32% in viewership from Florida State/Oklahoma State last year (3.8, 6.0M) and down 10% and 2%, respectively, from Clemson/Georgia in 2013 (4.8, 8.1M).
The Crimson Tide’s blowout win ranks as the second-most watched Saturday Night Football opener in nine years — since Notre Dame/Georgia Tech in 2006 (8.6M). Only the previously mentioned Clemson/Georgia game drew a larger audience over that span.
Saturday’s game nearly doubled Texas/Notre Dame on NBC head-to-head (2.4, 4.1M) and was the highest rated and most-watched telecast of college football’s opening weekend. For the week, it was the top show on broadcast in the adults 18-49 demographic, with a 2.7 rating.
Ratings/Viewership For Saturday Night Football Openers
| Year | Game | Rtg. | Vwrs. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Wisconsin/Alabama | 4.3 | 7.967M |
| 2014 | FSU/Oklahoma St. | 3.8 | 6.028M |
| 2013 | Clemson/Georgia | 4.8 | 8.137M |
| 2012 | Michigan/Alabama |
4.8
|
7.918M
|
| 2011 | Oregon/LSU |
4.6
|
7.751M
|
| 2010 | LSU/UNC |
2.7
|
4.302M
|
| 2009 | Alabama/Va. Tech |
4.2
|
7.081M
|
| 2008 | Alabama/Clemson |
3.6
|
5.599M
|
| 2007 | Tennessee/California |
3.3
|
4.945M
|
| 2006 | Notre Dame/Ga. Tech |
5.4
|
8.611M
|
(Sat. numbers via Media Life Magazine)
