ESPN scored a big increase in overnight ratings for the Holiday Bowl.
The USC/Nebraska Holiday Bowl drew a 3.9 overnight rating on ESPN Saturday night, up 56% from Texas Tech/Arizona State on a Monday night last year (2.5) and the weekend’s highest college football overnight. The 3.9 is also up 35% from last year’s Kansas State/Michigan Cactus Bowl, which aired in the comparable timeslot (2.9).
The Penn State/Boston College Pinstripe Bowl ranked second for the weekend with a 2.7, down 18% from last year’s 3.3 for Notre Dame/Rutgers. Last year’s game started at Noon ET. Compared to the late afternoon game on ESPN last year, the Cincinnati/North Carolina Belk Bowl, the 2.7 overnight marks a 13% decline from a 3.1.
Shifting to broadcast, CBS earned a 2.6 overnight for the Arizona State/Duke Sun Bowl and ABC earned a 2.5 for the South Carolina/Miami Independence Bowl. Overnights for last year’s games were not available.
Rounding out the weekend slate, the Virginia Tech/Cincinnati Military Bowl drew a 2.0 overnight on ESPN — up 25% from last year’s 1.6 for Marshall/Maryland on a Friday afternoon. Compared to last year’s Pinstripe Bowl in the comparable timeslot, the overnight declined by 39%.
(Wknd. overnights via Sports Business Daily, ShowBuzz Daily)
