Facing tough competition, the SEC on CBS got off to its weakest start in more than a decade.
Saturday’s UCLA/Texas A&M college football game earned a 1.9 final rating and 3.1 million viewers on CBS, down 21% in ratings and 23% in viewership from Louisville/Auburn last year (2.4, 4.0M) and the network’s lowest rated SEC opener in 11 years — since Alabama/South Carolina in 2005 (1.8).
Prior to last year, CBS began its SEC coverage in week three of the season due to U.S. Open commitments. The last of those week three openers, Georgia/South Carolina in 2014, had a 4.1 and 6.8 million.
One factor in the lower ratings — both this year and last — is that CBS does not have first pick of SEC games in the first two weeks of the season. As a result, the network missed out on marquee SEC contests such as #1 Alabama hosting USC and Auburn hosting #2 Clemson.
Head-to-head, the Aggies’ upset win was more-than-doubled by LSU/Wisconsin on ABC (4.6, 7.8M).
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily)
