For the first time in six tries this season, NBC had an increase in final ratings for its Notre Dame coverage.
Last Saturday’s Northwestern/Notre Dame college football game drew a 1.8 final rating and 3.0 million viewers on NBC, up a tick in ratings and up 15% in viewership from Navy/Notre Dame last year (2.6, 3.0M) and down 53% and 50%, respectively, from Pittsburgh/Notre Dame in 2012 (3.8, 6.0M).
Notre Dame’s upset loss was the first of the season on NBC to have an increase in ratings or viewership (six telecasts). With that said, it also earned the network’s second-lowest marks in both measures, ahead of only the opener against Rice (1.3, 2.1M).
Head-to-head, the game finished well behind both Mississippi State/Alabama on CBS (6.4, 10.3M) and Nebraska/Wisconsin on ABC (2.4, 4.0M). It did top the Washington/Arizona game on FOX by a wide margin (0.7, 1.0M).
(Sat. numbers from Sports Business Daily)
