For the third straight week, the SEC generated ESPN’s top college football audience of the week.
Last Saturday’s Georgia/Kentucky game drew a 1.9 final rating and 2.7 million viewers on ESPN, up 6% in ratings but down 1% in viewership from Auburn/Tennessee last year (1.8, 2.8M), and up 6% in both measures from Northwestern/Michigan in 2012 (1.8, 2.6M). The Bulldogs’ blowout win was the week’s top game on the ESPN family of networks.
An SEC conference game has topped the charts on ESPN three straight weeks and six of the past seven. Including non-conference games, the SEC played in the top ESPN game in seven of the past eight weeks.
In other ESPN action, the late night Oregon/Utah game drew a 1.6 and 2.7 million — up 60% in ratings and 79% in viewership from UCLA/Arizona last year (1.0, 1.5M), but down 30% and 26%, respectively, from Oregon/Cal in 2012 (2.3, 3.7M). Virginia/FSU earlier in the night drew a 1.2 and 1.9 million, flat in ratings and down 4% in viewership from Virginia Tech/Miami last year (1.2, 2.0M) and down 25% in both measures from Mississippi State/LSU in 2012 (1.6, 2.6M).
Shifting to ESPN2, Michigan/Northwestern was the top game with a 1.0 and 1.6 million. There was no comparable window on the network last year. Wisconsin/Purdue led the way on ESPNU with a 0.5 and 848,000, up a tick and 45% in viewership from last year’s Missouri/Kentucky game (0.4, 587K).
(Sat. numbers from Awful Announcing)
