Staying on New Year’s Day did little to help the Rose and Sugar bowls.
The Stanford/Iowa Rose Bowl drew a 7.9 overnight rating on ESPN New Year’s Day, down 30% from Michigan State/Stanford in 2014 (11.2) and down 18% from Stanford/Wisconsin in 2013 (9.6). Last year’s Rose Bowl, part of the College Football Playoff, had a 15.5 overnight.
The 7.9 overnight is the lowest for the Rose Bowl since at least 2001, and likely ever.
The Cardinal’s blowout win was the top game of New Year’s Day, but came nowhere close to this year’s playoff games — the Cotton Bowl (9.9) and Orange Bowl (9.7) on New Year’s Eve.
Later in the night, the Mississippi/Oklahoma State Sugar Bowl earned a 5.3 overnight — down 43% from Oklahoma/Alabama in 2014 (9.3) and down 17% from Louisville/Florida in 2013 (6.4). Last year’s Sugar Bowl, also part of the playoff, had a 15.3.
Mississippi’s blowout win earned the lowest Sugar Bowl overnight since before the formation of the BCS, and the lowest overnight for any New Year’s night bowl game over the same span.
Bucking the trend of declines was the Ohio State/Notre Dame Fiesta Bowl, which had a 6.2 overnight in the early afternoon window — up 35% from Boise State/Arizona on New Year’s Eve last year (4.6), but down 14% from UCF/Baylor on New Year’s night in 2014 (7.2).
The full New Year’s Six averaged a 7.1 overnight rating, down 13% from last year’s 8.2. Excluding the playoff semifinals, which were each down more than a third, the games averaged a 5.8 overnight — up 26% from last year’s non-playoff slate. Keep in mind that three of last year’s four non-playoff bowls aired on New Year’s Eve, while three of this year’s four aired on New Year’s Day.
(Fri. numbers from ESPN)
