Another week, another drop in NFL ratings. In other news, Memphis-UCF was the biggest draw of the group of five conference title games, Ohio State-Wisconsin boosted FOX college basketball ratings, and NHL Wednesday Night Rivalry dipped on NBCSN.
NFL Ratings: Singleheader Hits CBS High, But Down Again
Despite the low, it was the highest rated singleheader on CBS this season (six telecasts). It trailed Week 8 as the most-watched (15.2M).
Big Jump For American Title Game; MAC, C-USA, MWC Down
In the same window, the Toledo-Akron MAC Championship had 652,000 viewers on ESPN — down 52% from Western Michigan-Ohio last year, which aired on a Friday night on ESPN2 (1.4M). It was the least-watched MAC Championship since at least 2011. ESPN2 drew 255,000 for the North Texas-Florida Atlantic Conference-USA title game, down 72% from Western Kentucky-Louisiana Tech on ESPN last year (926K).
Rounding out the group of five action, the Boise State-Fresno State Mountain West Championship had a 0.39 (-11%) and 623,000 (-13%) on ESPN in primetime.
Big Ten Doubleheader Lifts FOX CBB Opener
Earlier in the day, CBS posted a 0.6 and 902,000 for its season opener between Indiana and Michigan — down 54% and 53% respectively from a higher-profile UCLA-Kentucky matchup last year (1.3, 1.9M).
Recent NHL Ratings
Going back to last month, NBCSN scored 424,000 for Lightning-Bruins on November 29 (+2%), 393,000 for Blackhawks-Predators on November 28 (+3%) and 272,000 for Blackhawks-Lightning on November 22 (+11%). The annual Black Friday game — Penguins-Bruins — had a 0.8 rating (-11%) and 1.2 million (-10%) on the NBC broadcast network.
