In the midst of another strong season, the SEC on CBS hit an unusual speed bump over the weekend.
The Mississippi/Arkansas college football game drew a 1.9 overnight rating on CBS Saturday afternoon, down 60% from Texas A&M/LSU last year (4.8) and the network’s lowest SEC overnight of the season. The previous mark was a 2.1 for a Noon ET Georgia/Missouri game in October.
Overall, the 1.9 is the lowest for the SEC on CBS since a Noon ET Georgia/Vanderbilt game in October 2013 (1.8) and the lowest for the primary 3:30 PM ET window since Mississippi State/Arkansas in November 2011 (1.6).
Non-SEC games have earned lower numbers, with this year’s Army/Air Force match-up scoring a 1.5.
Arkansas’ blowout win was topped head-to-head by ABC’s regional window, which featured Florida State in a close game (3.6), and by NBC’s Louisville/Notre Dame telecast (2.2) — marking the first time since September 2013 that Notre Dame on NBC has topped the SEC on CBS.
With the SEC slate featuring numerous blowouts against FCS teams, Mississippi/Arkansas was actually the conference’s top television draw. Tennessee/Missouri on ESPN ranked just behind with a 1.8 overnight.
(Sat. overnights from Sports Business Daily, with additional info from ShowBuzz Daily)
