Notre Dame’s drawing power has not done much for ABC so far this season.
Notre Dame-Virginia Tech scored a 2.7 rating and 4.47 million viewers on ABC’s Saturday Night Football last weekend, down 27% in ratings and 31% in viewership from last year (Michigan State-Michigan: 3.7, 6.51M) and down 16% and 19% respectively from 2016 (FSU-Miami: 3.2, 5.54M).
While Notre Dame ratings are up on NBC this season, the team’s two games on ABC have both declined by double-digits.
Saturday’s game faced tougher-than-usual baseball competition from the Yankees-Red Sox playoff game on TBS. That game had a 3.0 and 5.1 million, the best performance for the MLB Division Series on a Saturday night since 2008.
Earlier in the day, FSU-Miami had a 1.8 and 2.81 million — up 13% in ratings and 12% in viewership from last year (Notre Dame-UNC: 1.6, 2.51M) but down 10% and 14% respectively from regional action in 2016 (2.0, 3.25M).
Compared to last year’s FSU-Miami game — which aired on the same weekend and in the same window, but on ESPN — ratings increased 6% (From 1.7) and viewership 3% (from 2.73M). Miami’s comeback win exceeds only last year as the rivals’ lowest rated and least-watched matchup in at least 15 years.
Keep in mind the first hour of FSU-Miami was preempted by Maryland-Michigan, which was delayed more than an hour due to rain. That game had a 1.5 and 2.33 million — down 21% in ratings and 18% in viewership from last year (Penn State-Northwestern: 1.9, 2.83M) and down 38% and 37% respectively from 2016 (Notre Dame-NC State: 2.4, 3.72M).
So far this season 11 of ABC’s 19 college football windows have declined from last year.
The full list of week six college football ratings is available here.
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 10.10]
