Delayed due to the holiday, the final numbers for week thirteen of the college football season included a rare win for ABC and a weak outing for CBS.
Regional college football action featuring Boston College/Florida State in 78% of markets drew a 3.6 final rating and 5.7 million viewers on ABC November 22, up a third in ratings and 40% in viewership from regional coverage last year (2.7, 4.0M) and the week’s top game on any network.
It was only the fourth time in thirteen weeks this season that a non-SEC telecast topped the charts.
Ranking second for the weekend was the USC/UCLA Saturday Night Football game, with a 2.9 and 4.9 million — down 28% in ratings and 27% in viewership from Baylor/Oklahoma State last year (4.0, 6.6M). Finishing a top-three sweep for ESPN/ABC, the Noon ET Minnesota/Nebraska drew a 2.2 and 3.4 million on ESPN, up 22% and 32%, respectively, from Michigan State/Northwestern last year (1.8, 2.5M).
In a rarity, the SEC on CBS ranked just fourth for the week. Mississippi/Arkansas drew a 2.1 final rating and 3.3 million viewers, down 55% in ratings and 56% in viewership from Texas A&M/LSU last year (4.7, 7.5M) and a near season-low for SEC coverage on the network. Only Georgia/Missouri in October ranked lower (2.0, 3.0M). Keep in mind that week thirteen featured a particularly weak slate of SEC games.
NBC rounded out the top five with a 2.0 and 3.1 million for Notre Dame’s season finale against Louisville, up 40% in ratings and 35% in viewership from last year’s finale against BYU (1.5, 2.3M). It was just the second of seven Notre Dame windows on NBC to have an increase over last year.
In other week thirteen action, ESPN drew a 1.9 and 3.3 million for Missouri/Tennessee — up 27% in ratings and 37% in viewership from Missouri/Mississippi last year (1.5, 2.4M). FOX scored a 1.3 and 2.2 million for Oklahoma State/Baylor, down 24% and 18%, respectively, from Arizona State/UCLA last year (1.7, 2.6M).
(Week 13 finals from Nielsen, Sports Business Daily)
