One upset and another near-upset put up solid numbers for ESPN on Saturday.
BYU’s upset victory over Oklahoma drew a 2.8 U.S. rating and 4.6 million viewers on ESPN Saturday night — up 75% and 76%, respectively, from a 1.6 and 2.6 million for last year’s comparable Illinois/Missouri game, which aired in a later timeslot.
With BYU/Oklahoma as a lead-in, ESPN’s LSU/Washington telecast drew a 2.1 U.S. rating and 3.4 million viewers. ESPN did not air a game in the comparable timeslot last year.
Elsewhere Saturday, ESPN scored strong ratings for Navy’s near-upset of Ohio State. Ohio State’s 31-27 win drew a 2.6 U.S. rating and 3.9 million viewers on Saturday afternoon, up 30% in ratings and 43% in viewers from a 2.0 and 2.7 million for Va. Tech/ECU in the same timeslot last year.
Source: TV By the Numbers
