On Thanksgiving night, college football won the ratings battle with the NFL.
ESPN drew 5.7 million viewers for Texas/Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night, up 8% from 5.1 million for the USC/Arizona State game on Thanksgiving in ’07, and making the game the second most-viewed program of the week on cable.
The 5.7 million viewers easily surpasses the 3.8 million who were watching the Cardinals/Eagles game on NFL Network at the same time.
Keep in mind the college football game had BCS implications and aired on ESPN, while the NFL game aired on NFL Network, which is in far fewer homes.
College football outdrew the NFL on Thanksgiving night last year as well; USC/Arizona State drew 5.1 million viewers on ESPN, while Colts/Falcons drew 4.2 million on NFL Network.
