A pair of Big Ten matchups delivered two of the season’s top audiences last weekend.
Last Saturday’s Michigan-Michigan State college football game averaged a 5.1 rating and 9.29 million viewers on FOX “Big Noon Saturday,” marking the highest rating and viewership of the season thus far. The previous highs were a 4.6 and 8.86 million for Georgia-Clemson on ABC on Labor Day weekend.
Excluding bowl and conference championship games, the Spartans’ win delivered the sixth-largest college football audience ever on FOX — and the largest excluding Ohio State games. It was the most-watched game between the rivals in at least a decade.
Ratings jumped 113% and viewership 120% from the same matchup in the same window last year (2.4, 4.22M) and 21% and 40% respectively from Wisconsin-Ohio State in 2019 (4.2, 6.65M).
The Big Ten delivered the top two college football audiences of last weekend, with Penn State-Ohio State averaging a 3.7 and 7.05 million on ABC’s Saturday Night Football — up 7% in ratings and 8% in viewership from the same matchup in the same window last year (3.45, 6.53M). Compared to Notre Dame-Michigan two years ago, ratings slipped a tick but viewership increased 4% (from 6.75M).
Despite facing World Series competition, the Buckeyes’ win delivered the eighth-largest audience of the season. Five of the ten most-watched games this season has involved at least one Big Ten team, more than any other conference.
Ranking third, Georgia-Florida averaged a 3.2 and 6.12 million on the SEC on CBS — up 54% in ratings and 77% in in viewership from LSU-Auburn last year (2.1, 3.45M) but down 25% and 15% respectively from Auburn-LSU in 2019 (4.3, 7.18M).
The Bulldogs’ easy win, which peaked with 7.91 million, declined 7% and 4% respectively from last year’s meeting between the rivals (3.5, 6.34M). Even so, it was their fourth-straight meeting to exceed six million viewers, a mark the rivalry exceeded only twice previously.
No other game last week cracked a 2.0 rating or three million viewers. Colorado-Oregon ranked fourth with a 1.6 and 2.67 million on FOX, down 31% and 34% respectively from last year (Texas-Oklahoma State: 2.3, 4.04M). Mississippi-Auburn placed fifth at a 1.4 and 2.53 million on ESPN, up 31% and 27% respectively (from Mississippi State-Alabama: 1.1, 2.00M).
Ranking just outside of the top five, ABC drew a 1.4 and 2.40 million for Texas-Baylor and a 1.4 and 2.37 million for Texas Tech-Oklahoma — both down more than a third from last year’s comparable games (Boston College-Clemson: 2.7, 4.38M; Notre Dame-Georgia Tech: 2.2, 3.77M).
NBC rounded out the broadcast TV slate with a 1.3 and 2.35 million for North Carolina-Notre Dame, the network’s least-watched primetime Notre Dame game since a 2011 matchup against Maryland (2.1M).
Returning to cable, ESPN scored a clean sweep of gains for its Saturday quadrupleheader. In addition to the previously-mentioned Mississippi-Auburn game, Florida State-Clemson increased 51% in ratings (to 1.1) and 64% in viewership (to 1.88M), Iowa-Wisconsin 139% (to 1.05) and 169% (to 1.83M), and UCLA-Utah 8% (to 0.52) and 5% (to 829K). ESPN2 got into the act as well with Purdue-Nebraska up a whopping 225% (to 0.65) and 267% (to 1.30M) and last Friday’s Navy-Tulsa game up 78% (to 0.41) and 107% (to 684K).
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 11.2, network PR]
