Despite a Hail Mary finish, the BYU/Nebraska game had a big decline on ABC. In other news, overnights went in opposite directions for ESPN’s Friday and Saturday night college football games, and NASCAR’s Xfinity Series hit a broadcast TV season-low on NBC.
Hail Mary Not Enough to Save BYU/Nebraska Rating
- The BYU/Nebraska college football game drew a 2.0 overnight rating on ABC Saturday afternoon, down 51% from regional action featuring West Virginia/Alabama last year (4.1) and down 9% from additional regional coverage in 2013 (2.2). BYU’s last-second win trailed Louisville/Auburn on CBS head-to-head.
ESPN’s Primetime CFB Down Big Saturday, But Up Big Friday
- ESPN drew a 1.5 overnight for Saturday’s Texas A&M/Arizona State college football game, down 40% from Wisconsin/LSU last year (2.5) and down 21% from LSU/TCU in 2013 (1.9), both of which aired in later timeslots. The Aggies’ win trailed both ABC’s Saturday Night Football (4.3) and NBC’s Notre Dame game (2.6) head-to-head. The previous night, both Baylor/SMU and Washington/Boise State also drew a 1.5 overnight — but that represented increases of 67% and 114%, respectively, from last year.
Xfinity Series Hits Broadcast Low Opposite CFB
- Airing opposite college football, NASCAR Xfinity Series racing from Darlington drew a 1.1 overnight rating on NBC Saturday afternoon — the lowest for the series on broadcast TV this year (six telecasts). The previous low was a 1.2 for coverage from Dover on FOX. Last year’s Darlington overnight was not available, but the comparable Labor Day weekend race drew a 1.0 on ESPN.
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily, ESPN)
