The Big 12 delivered college football’s top audience of the week.
Saturday’s Oklahoma/Baylor college football game drew a 3.8 final rating and 5.9 million viewers on ABC, down a tick in ratings and 14% in viewership from Ohio State/Michigan State last year (3.9, 6.8M) and up 90% and 94%, respectively, from Notre Dame/Pittsburgh in 2013 (2.0, 3.0M).
The Sooners’ win was the highest rated and most-watched college football game of the week on any network, marking the eighth time in 11 weeks that ESPN or ABC has topped the charts — and the seventh time that the top game did not involve an SEC team. Head-to-head, it easily topped Arkansas/LSU on ESPN (2.2, 3.6M) and Oregon/Stanford on FOX (1.7, 2.8M).
In addition, the game ranks as the top telecast of the season to feature a Big 12 team. That does not include regional coverage on ABC in week five, which featured Ohio State/Indiana in most of the country and Texas Tech/Baylor in remaining markets (4.3, 7.3M).
In other action, regional action featuring Michigan/Indiana drew a 3.3 and 5.2 million earlier in the day — up 10% in ratings and 11% in viewership from Notre Dame/Arizona State last year (4.7M) and up 7% and 9%, respectively, from Nebraska/Michigan in 2013 (4.8M).
Ohio State/Illinois rounded out the tripleheader with a 2.6 and 4.1 million in the Noon ET window, up 44% and 57%, respectively, from regional coverage in 2013 (1.8, 2.6M). There was no comparable window last year.
(Wknd. numbers from ESPN, TV Media Insights)
