There have been bigger games, both in the field and in the ratings, in the Alabama/LSU rivalry.
Alabama/LSU scored a 5.8 final rating and 10.4 million viewers on Saturday’s primetime edition of the SEC on CBS, down 9% in ratings and 6% in viewership from the teams’ meeting last year (6.4, 11.1M) but up 9% and 14%, respectively, from their 2014 game, which aired one week later in the season (5.3, 9.1M).
The Tide’s win ranks as the highest rated and most-watched edition of the SEC on CBS this season, no surprise given the primetime slot, and is second for the season among all college football games — behind only Notre Dame/Texas on ABC the Sunday of Labor Day weekend (6.4, 10.9M).
It was not as impressive by the standards of the Alabama/LSU rivalry. Since CBS began airing the game in primetime back in 2011, only the 2014 edition has had a lower rating and viewership.
In the traditional mid-afternoon SEC on CBS window, Florida/Arkansas had a 2.6 and 4.3 million — up 30% in ratings and 43% in viewership from Arkansas/Mississippi last year (2.0, 3.0M) but down 30% and 25%, respectively, from Florida/Georgia in 2014 (3.7, 5.7M).
Notre Dame/Navy started off the CBS tripleheader with a 1.6 and 2.4 million. The last time the teams played on the network, in the same week of the 2014 season, their primetime matchup had a 2.3 and 3.9 million.
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 11/8)
