In a bowl season marked by declines, the Music City Bowl hit a five-year viewership high.
Wednesday’s Louisville/Texas A&M Music City Bowl drew 5.4 million viewers on ESPN, up 2% from Notre Dame/LSU last year (5.3M) and up 74% from Mississippi/Georgia Tech in 2013 (3.1M). Ratings were not immediately available.
The Cardinals’ win ranks as the most-watched Music City Bowl in five years, since North Carolina/Tennessee scored 7.1 million in 2010. In the past ten seasons, only the 2010 game earned a larger audience. Keep in mind this year’s Music City Bowl was the first to air at night since 2011, with the previous three editions kicking off at Noon or 3 PM ET.
The game also earned ESPN’s largest audience of the bowl season through Wednesday (23 telecasts), topping the second-place mark of 5.0 million for the Texas Bowl. It was just the sixth of those 23 telecasts to post an increase in viewership.
(Wed. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily)
