A strong line-up of college football games attracted impressive numbers on ESPN Saturday.
ESPN drew a 5.6 overnight rating for the Notre Dame/Michigan game Saturday night, up 180% from Washington/LSU in an earlier timeslot last year (2.0), and up 17% from Notre Dame/Michigan in 2011 (4.8).
The 5.6 overnight is tied as the highest for the annual Notre Dame/Michigan game since 2003, when ABC drew a 6.0. In addition, the 5.6 is the highest for a regular season college football game on ESPN since Boise State/Virginia Tech on Labor Day 2010 (6.8).
Earlier Saturday, Georgia/South Carolina drew a 4.8 overnight — up 66% from Florida/Texas A&M last year (2.9).
In the opening game of the network’s tripleheader, Florida/Miami earned a 3.7 overnight — up 128% from Auburn/Mississippi State last year (1.6).
All three games either matched or exceeded ESPN’s regular season high last year (3.7).
(Sat. overnights from Sports Business Daily, ShowBuzz Daily)
