The defending champs gave ESPN college football ratings a boost over Thanksgiving weekend.
Clemson-South Carolina had a 2.2 rating and 4.0 million viewers on ESPN last Saturday night, up 47% in ratings and 52% in viewership from the same matchup last year (1.5, 2.7M) but down 8% and 6% respectively from Florida State-Florida in 2015 (2.4, 4.3M).
ESPN Nielsen ratings now include streaming viewership on TV devices; all comparisons are to last year’s TV-only numbers.
Clemson’s win was the most-watched college football game of the week on cable.
Earlier in the day, FSU-Florida had a 1.2 and 2.1 million — up a third in ratings and 31% in viewership from Kentucky-Louisville last year (0.9, 1.6M) but down a third and 30% respectively from Clemson-South Carolina in 2015 (1.8, 2.9M). Not surprisingly given their poor seasons, it was the lowest rated and least-watched game between the rivals since at least 2011, when the matchup aired on ESPN2.
Rounding out the Saturday schedule, West Virginia-Oklahoma had a 1.1 (-45%) and 1.9 million (-49%).
On Black Friday, Virginia Tech-Virginia scored a 1.25 rating and 2.1 million viewers (+20%). The Thanksgiving night “Egg Bowl” between Mississippi and Mississippi State had a 1.2 (-8%) and 2.5 million (-11%).
As for the other ESPN networks, ESPN2 topped out at a 0.40 and 738,000 for the Oregon State-Oregon “Civil War” — up 11% and 27% in viewership from UCLA-Cal last year (0.36, 580K).
The 2017 college football ratings chart is available here.
[Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 11.29]
