The Big Ten was not quite as big a draw as last year on ABC’s Saturday Night Football.
Last Saturday’s Nebraska/Michigan State college football game drew a 2.8 final rating and 4.6 million viewers on ABC, down 36% in ratings and 38% in viewership from Ohio State/Northwestern last year (4.4, 7.4M) and down 10% and 12%, respectively, from Nebraska/Ohio State in 2012 (3.1, 5.2M).
Despite the decline, the game trailed only Alabama/Mississippi on CBS (3.7, 5.9M) as the top college football telecast of the week. Head-to-head, the Spartans’ win topped LSU/Auburn on ESPN (2.1, 3.7M) and Arizona State/USC on FOX (1.4, 2.3M).
Earlier in the day, regional action featuring Wake Forest/Florida State in 60% of markets drew a 2.3 and 3.6 million — down 21% and 19%, respectively, from last year (2.9, 4.4M). The telecast had to compete head-to-head with Alabama/Mississippi on CBS (3.7, 5.9M), Stanford/Notre Dame on NBC (2.2, 3.4M) and TCU/Oklahoma on FOX (1.3, 2.2M).
The first game of ABC’s tripleheader, Ohio State/Maryland, drew a 2.2 and 3.3 million viewers. There was no comparable window last year or in 2012. The Buckeyes’ blowout win was outdrawn head-to-head by Texas A&M/Mississippi on ESPN (2.6, 4.1M).
(Sat. numbers from Nielsen)
