Two of college basketball’s highest-profile programs delivered a big increase for CBS. In other news, the NFL singleheader window was no match for last year’s strong performance, and the latest edition of UFC on FOX scored an uptick.
Kentucky/UNC Overnights Up Big For CBS
- Kentucky/North Carolina scored a 2.4 overnight rating in the CBS Sports Classic Saturday evening, up 41% from Ohio State/Kentucky last year (1.7) and up 60% from Kentucky’s rout of UCLA in 2014 (1.5). The 2.4 is the highest of the young college basketball season on any network and the best regular season mark on CBS — excluding conference tournaments — since UNLV/Kansas after an NFL playoff game in 2015. Ohio State/UCLA had a 1.3 earlier in the day, up 30% from UCLA/UNC last year (1.0) but down a tick from UNC/Ohio State in ’14 (1.4). Memphis/Oklahoma started off the day with a 0.8.
NFL Singleheader Down From Last Year’s High
- The Week 15 NFL singleheader window, featuring Lions/Giants in 48% of markets or 49ers/Falcons in 19%, had an 11.7 overnight rating on FOX Sunday afternoon — down 24% from last year (15.3) and down 5% from 2014 on CBS (12.3). Last year’s comparable window, which featured the then-undefeated Panthers against the Giants, was the highest rated singleheader in the metered markets since 2010.
Uptick For UFC on FOX
- UFC on FOX 22 scored a 1.9 overnight rating Saturday night, up a tick from the previous two December editions last year and in 2014 (1.8 both years). The 1.9 is tied as the highest for the UFC on FOX since January of 2015.
(Numbers via Sports Business Daily 12/19, Fox Sports)
