Facing stronger competition than a year ago, ABC held up fairly well in the overnights on Saturday.
The week six edition of “Saturday Night Football,” pitting Nebraska against Ohio State, drew a 3.1 overnight rating on ABC — down 16% from the same matchup last year (3.7), and down 18% from coverage featuring Florida State/Miami in 2010 (3.8).
Opposite the other Saturday night games on broadcast, Nebraska/Ohio State finished just barely behind West Virginia/Texas on FOX (3.2), but topped Miami/Notre Dame on NBC (2.4).
Earlier Saturday, regional action featuring Oklahoma/Texas Tech drew a 1.9 overnight — down 39% from coverage featuring Iowa/Penn State last year (3.1), and down 44% from coverage featuring Michigan State/Michigan in 2010 (3.4).
The early game was swamped head-to-head by LSU/Florida on CBS (4.7), but easily topped Arizona/Stanford on FOX (1.0).
(Saturday’s numbers from Sports Business Daily)
