For just the third time, college football on FOX topped ABC’s Saturday Night Football.
Saturday’s Utah/Oregon college football game drew a 1.8 final rating and 3.0 million viewers on FOX, down 10% in ratings and 8% in viewership from Oklahoma/West Virginia last year (2.0, 3.2M) but up 50% and 57%, respectively, from Arizona State/Stanford in 2013 (1.2, 1.9M).
Despite the decline, the Utes’ blowout ranks as the highest rated and most-watched college football game on FOX this season (five telecasts). Moreover, it marked just the third time since FOX began airing weekly college football in 2012 that the network topped competing coverage of Saturday Night Football on ABC — finishing ahead of UCLA/Arizona by 13% in ratings (1.8 to 1.6) and 25% in viewership (3.0M to 2.4M).
It was not the top game of Saturday night, however, trailing Texas A&M/Arkansas on ESPN (1.9, 3.1M).
In other action, FOX drew a 1.7 and 2.8 million for TCU/Texas Tech Saturday afternoon — ranking second among the network’s five telecasts this season.
(Sat. numbers via TV Media Insights)
