A day of marquee games scored strong numbers for ESPN and ABC.
The USC/Alabama college football game drew a 4.9 overnight rating on ABC Saturday night, up 14% from Wisconsin/Alabama last year (4.3), up 20% from Florida State/Oklahoma in 2014 (4.1), and tied as the highest for the season opener of Saturday Night Football since the series debuted in 2006.
Alabama’s rout matched Clemson/Georgia in 2013 and trailed only Notre Dame/Georgia Tech in 2006 (5.8).
Earlier in the day, LSU/Wisconsin also scored a 4.9 overnight — up 145% from BYU/Nebraska last year (2.0) and up 20% from regional action featuring West Virginia/Alabama in 2014 (4.1). The 4.9 is the highest for an afternoon game on the opening Saturday of the season since at least 2004.
Rounding out ABC’s tripleheader, Oklahoma/Houston scored a 4.0 overnight in the Noon ET window. There were no comparable windows last year or in 2015.
Over on ESPN, Clemson/Auburn delivered a 2.8 overnight opposite USC/Alabama — up 87% from Arizona State/Texas A&M last year (1.5) and up 12% from Wisconsin/LSU in 2014 (2.5). It trailed only ABC’s three games as the highest rated of the day in the metered markets.
(Wknd. numbers from ESPN Media Zone)
