For just the second time this season, the SEC on CBS was college football’s top television draw.
Last Saturday’s Tennessee/Alabama college football game had a 4.3 final rating and just under 7.0 million viewers on CBS, up 56% in ratings and 66% in viewership from Alabama/Texas A&M last year (2.8, 4.2M) and up a tick and 4%, respectively, from Auburn/Texas A&M in 2013 (4.2, 6.7M).
The Crimson Tide’s narrow win ranks as the highest rated game of the season on CBS (eight telecasts), topping the previous high of 4.2 for Alabama/Georgia in week five, and the second-most watched — slightly behind Alabama/Georgia (7.05M to 6.97M). Of the six CBS telecasts that can be compared to last year, it was just the second to have an increase in ratings or viewership.
Saturday’s game was also the top college football telecast of the week on any network, finishing comfortably ahead of the second-place figures of 3.1 and 5.0 million. This is just the second time in eight weeks this season that the SEC on CBS has topped the charts.
Key to the stronger performance was the quality of the game. While Alabama’s first two CBS appearances this season were routs — a 28 point defeat of favored Georgia and an 18-win over Texas A&M — the Tide actually trailed late in the fourth quarter against Tennessee.
(Wknd. numbers via Sports Business Daily)
