An upset loss for one of the nation’s top teams gave ESPN strong numbers last weekend.
Last Saturday’s Mississippi/LSU college football game drew a 3.0 final rating and 5.0 million viewers on ESPN, up 30% in ratings and 35% in viewership from Oregon/UCLA last year (2.3, 3.7M) and up 30% and 26%, respectively, from Ohio State/Penn State in an earlier timeslot two years ago (2.3, 3.9M).
LSU’s upset win drew the season’s largest college football audience on ESPN, though it has since been eclipsed by FSU/Louisville. It ranked second for the week behind Mississippi State/Kentucky on CBS, which had only a slightly higher rating (3.1 to 3.0) and viewership (4.995M to 4.952M).
In other week nine action, ESPN drew a 2.0 and 3.1 million for the Noon ET Texas/Kansas State game — flat in ratings and down 2% in viewership from Nebraska/Minnesota last year (2.0, 3.1M) and down 23% and 21%, respectively, from Tennessee/South Carolina in 2012 (2.6, 3.9M)
West Virginia/Oklahoma State drew a 1.2 and 1.9 million later in the afternoon, down 20% in ratings and 24% in viewership from last year’s Clemson/Maryland game (1.5, 2.3M). Finally, the late night Arizona State/Washington game drew a 1.1 and 1.8 million — down 27% and 21%, respectively, from Stanford/Oregon State last year (1.5, 2.2M).
ESPN2’s top game of the week was Alabama/Tennessee last Saturday night, with a 1.5 and 2.6 million — down 17% in ratings and 15% in viewership from South Carolina/Missouri last year (1.8, 3.1M) but up 25% and 27%, respectively, from Michigan/Nebraska in 2012 (1.2, 2.0M). Minnesota/Illinois topped the charts on ESPNU with a 0.4 and 633,000, down 33% and 29%, respectively, from last year’s Wake Forest/Miami game (0.6, 885K).
