Ratings and viewership declined for the Cotton Bowl on FOX, but the numbers were still among the best of the past decade.
The 2012 Cotton Bowl, won by #6 Arkansas over #6 Kansas State, earned a 5.0 final rating and 8.363 million viewers on FOX last Friday night, down 14% in ratings and 17% in viewership from last year (LSU/TAMU: 5.8, 10.014M), and up 11% and 15%, respectively, from 2010 (MISS/OKST: 4.5, 7.250M).
Despite the decline, the game ranks as the second-highest rated Cotton Bowl since 1998 (UCLA/TAMU: 6.2, CBS), and the second-most viewed since 2001 (viewership unavailable prior to 2002).
The Cotton Bowl was the most-viewed non-BCS bowl, edging the Outback Bowl on ABC.
(This year’s numbers from Sports Business Daily)
