Ratings and viewership more than septupled for the Heart of Dallas Bowl.
The Louisiana Tech/Illinois Heart of Dallas Bowl drew a 1.5 final rating and 2.3 million viewers on ESPN Friday afternoon, up 650% in ratings and 600% in viewership from North Texas/UNLV on ESPNU last year (0.2, 332K) and up 200% and 148%, respectively, from Oklahoma State/Purdue on ESPNU in 2012 (0.5, 943K).
The Bulldogs’ win was almost certainly the most-watched Heart of Dallas Bowl ever (five telecasts dating back to 2011), though ratings and viewership were not available for the first two games.
Until this year, the Heart of Dallas Bowl aired on New Year’s Day opposite several major bowl games — the Capital One, Gator and Outback. The new college football playoff necessitated a shift from New Year’s Day, and the game clearly benefited from less competition and a bigger platform.
Despite the improved performance, the Heart of Dallas Bowl was still the least-watched of the day, trailing both the St. Petersburg (2.0, 3.3M) and new Detroit Lions Bowl (1.8, 2.9M).
(Fri. numbers from Bloomberg/ShowBuzz Daily)
