Viewership for the Birmingham Bowl plummeted from last year to hit a four-year low.
Wednesday’s Auburn/Memphis Birmingham Bowl drew 2.4 million viewers on ESPN, down 46% from Florida/ECU last year (4.5M) and down 6% from Vanderbilt/Houston in 2013 (2.6M). Ratings were not immediately available.
Auburn’s win ranks as the least-watched Birmingham Bowl in almost four years, since SMU/Pittsburgh in 2012 (2.0M). In the ten season history of the game, only 2012 and the inaugural USF/ECU matchup in 2006 (1.5M) attracted fewer viewers.
From 2010-15, the Birmingham Bowl took place on the first Saturday after New Year’s Day. Last year’s edition aired immediately prior to ESPN’s first ever NFL Wild Card telecast, likely benefiting from viewers who were waiting for the playoff game to start. By contrast, this year’s game aired at Noon on a weekday.
Given the sharp difference in timeslots, the sizable decline is no surprise. The 46% drop is the second-highest of the bowl season on ESPN (23 telecasts), trailing only a 48% plunge for the Quick Lane Bowl — another timeslot casualty, shifting from primetime on ESPN last year to late afternoon on ESPN2 this year. The Birmingham Bowl was the third of four bowl games Wednesday to decline by at least a third, along with the Holiday Bowl (-38%) and the Belk Bowl (-45%).
(Wed. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily)
