The inaugural announcement of the college football playoff field increased substantially over last year’s BCS selection show. In other news, the final match of the Liga MX Apertura season topped the MLS Cup and NBC scored run-of-the-mill numbers for its EPL coverage.
College Football Selection Show Up on ESPN
- The inaugural College Football Playoff Selection Show drew a 1.5 final rating and 2.2 million viewers for the full two-and-a-half hour window, up 36% in ratings and 19% in viewership from last year’s half-hour BCS Selection Show (1.1, 1.8M) and up 67% and 62%, respectively, from the 2012 BCS show (0.9, 1.3M). Ratings and viewership were not immediately available for the first half-hour, when the four playoff teams were announced. (via Sports Business Daily)
Liga MX Final Top Club Soccer Match Since World Cup
- Thursday’s América/Tigres Liga MX Apertura final drew 2.2 million viewers on UniMás, down a third from last year’s Leon/América final (3.3M) but the most-watched club soccer match on any network since the World Cup. The match edged the combined English and Spanish language audiences for the MLS Cup (1.9M) and NBC’s recent Manchester United/Arsenal English Premier League match, the most-watched live EPL telecast in U.S. TV history (1.4M). (Univision)
NBC Sees Middling Numbers For EPL
- NBC earned a 0.6 final rating and 823,000 viewers for last Saturday’s Manchester City/Everton English Premier League match, ranking seventh in viewership out of the network’s twelve EPL telecasts this season. There was no comparable window last year. (via Sports Business Daily)
