USC/Notre Dame scored a 9.6 rating on a Saturday night on ABC, higher than the previous Saturday night high (8.2 for OSU/Texas). It’s the second highest rated regular season game this year, in a season that’s been a boon for ABC/ESPN. ESPN has aired 3 of its highest rated college football games this year (Miami/FSU on Labor Day, West Virginia/Louisville and Rutgers/Louisville) and ABC has aired three games with 8+ ratings (OSU/Michigan, USC/ND and OSU/Texas).
The USC/ND game almost caught ‘Sunday Night Football’ on NBC; Colts/Eagles got a 10.8 rating, only 1.2 ratings points higher than the college game. This looks to be the best season for college football ratings wise in many years, and the fact that USC and Ohio State were involved in these highly rated games bodes very well for FOX (carrying the BCS this season).
Remember, these are regular season games. The NBA and Major League Baseball average around a 2 rating for regular season games. The NHL averages a 1 rating. NASCAR is averaging around a 4 rating this season.
Increased promotion on ESPN/ABC and FOX as well as compelling games are helping college football approach the NFL stratosphere; whether or not college football will be able to do what college basketball did (overtake the pro league in ratings) is the only question.
