Heading into the National Championship game, ratings for the BCS on FOX and ABC are up 6% from last year. Meanwhile, on cable, ESPN has had similar success for its slate of non-BCS bowls.
Four college football bowl games were among the 20 most watched cable television programs last week, led by the Holiday Bowl on December 30. Oregon’s win over Oklahoma State drew 6.2 million viewers, up 9% from 5.7 million viewers for last year’s Texas/Arizona State matchup.
The Alamo Bowl the night before finished as the second most viewed program of the week. Missouri’s win over Northwestern drew 6.1 million viewers, up 59% from last year’s 3.8 million for Penn State/Texas A&M. Keep in mind that last year’s Alamo Bowl aired opposite a Patriots/Giants NFL game which aired on CBS, NBC and NFL Network.
Not all of the news was good. Opposite the last Sunday Night Football telecast of the season, the Louisiana Tech/Northern Illinois Independence Bowl saw its ratings decline 47%, from a 1.9 to a 1.0. On New Year’s Eve, LSU’s blowout of Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl drew 5.6 million viewers, down 25% from 7.5 million for Auburn/Clemson the previous year.
Meanwhile, the South Carolina/Iowa Outback Bowl drew 4.1 million viewers on New Year’s Day, down 10% from 4.5 million for Tennessee/Wisconsin a year earlier.
Overall, ESPN and ESPN2 averaged a 2.5 U.S. rating for its 23 bowl telecasts, up 9% from a 2.3 last year. The Champs Sports Bowl on December 27 was the second most viewed bowl game ever on the ESPN family of networks.
Most viewed bowl games on cable in 2008-09.
7.1 mil: Champs Sports, Florida St./Wisconsin (Sat., 12/27, 4:30 PM ESPN)
6.5 mil: Emerald, California/Miami (Sat., 12/27, 8 PM ESPN)
6.2 mil: Holiday, Oregon/Oklahoma St. (Tue., 12/30, 8 PM ESPN)
6.1 mil: Alamo, Missouri/Northwestern (Mon., 12/29, 8 PM ESPN)
5.9 mil: Meineke Car Care, Wake Forest/N. Carolina (Sat., 12/27, 12:55 PM ESPN)
