Tougher competition from other bowl games led to a steep decline for the Citrus Bowl.
The Missouri/Minnesota Citrus Bowl drew a 3.6 rating and 6.0 million viewers on ABC New Year’s Day, according to Nielsen fast-nationals — down 36% in ratings and 38% in viewership from South Carolina/Wisconsin last year (5.6, 9.6M) and down 45% in both measures from Georgia/Nebraska in 2013 (6.6, 11.0M).
The Tigers’ win earned the second-lowest rating and viewership for the Citrus Bowl since at least 2001, ahead of only the 2012 game on ESPN (2.9, 4.5M). It was also ABC’s lowest rated and least-watched New Year’s Day bowl game since at least ’01, falling below the previous marks of 5.1 for the 2012 Outback Bowl and 7.7 million for the 2006 Citrus Bowl.
A major factor was tougher competition on ESPN and ESPN2. Both the Cotton Bowl on ESPN (5.2, 9.1M) and Outback Bowl on ESPN2 (3.8, 6.4M) topped the Citrus Bowl, marking the first time that either network has beaten ABC head-to-head on New Year’s Day. Each game improved substantially over the comparable timeslot last year, with ESPN up 63% in ratings and 67% in viewership and ESPN2 up a more modest 46% and 42%, respectively.
Those gains offset ABC’s declines. The three early New Year’s Day bowls combined for roughly a 13.0 rating and 21.5 million viewers, up from an 11.6 and 19.9 million for four bowls last year.
(1/1 numbers via ESPN)
