Some more numbers from week one of the college football season, including a viewership record for ESPNU, a rough start for FOX, and a modest decline for the annual Labor Day game.
- ESPNU Earns Best College Football Audience: Last Friday’s Tennessee/North Carolina State college football game drew a 0.8 U.S. rating and 1.491 million viewers on ESPNU, the network’s most-viewed college football telecast ever. The record audience is especially impressive considering the game aired opposite Boise State/Michigan State on ESPN (2.7, 4.194M). (ESPN Media Zone)
- Awful Start For College Football on FOX: The debut of regular season college football on the FOX broadcast network, pitting unranked Hawaii against #1 USC, earned a mere 1.2 final rating and 1.823 million viewers Saturday night. The game was easily outdrawn head-to-head by Michigan/Alabama on ABC (4.8, 7.918M) and Clemson/Auburn on ESPN (2.1, 3.582M). (Sports Business Daily)
- Fewer Viewers For Labor Day Game: Monday’s Georgia Tech/Virginia Tech college football game drew a 4.306 million viewers on ESPN, down 2% from Miami/Maryland last year (4.395M), and down 56% from Boise State/Virginia Tech in 2010 (9.888M). (Monday’s numbers from TV By the Numbers)
