FOX and Fox Sports 1 went in opposite directions in week seven of the college football season. In other news, the WNBA Finals posted mixed numbers over the weekend, and NBCSN did not benefit from adding rookie Auston Matthews to its NHL schedule.
CFB Down Big on FOX, Up Big on FS1, in Week Seven
- Saturday’s USC/Arizona college football game drew a 0.6 final rating and 871,000 viewers on FOX, down 60% in both measures from West Virginia/Baylor in an earlier slot last year (1.5, 2.2M) and off 45% and 50%, respectively, from Oregon/UCLA in 2014 (1.1, 1.8M). Both figures were season lows on broadcast. On Fox Sports 1, West Virginia/Texas Tech had a 0.5 and 834,000 — up 150% in ratings and 100% in viewership from Texas Tech/Kansas last year (0.2, 417K) and up 67% and 61%, respectively, from West Virginia/Texas Tech in ’14 (0.3, 518K). Kansas/Baylor had a 0.2 and 364,000; no game aired last year.
WNBA Finals Mixed Over Weekend
- Game 4 of the Lynx/Sparks WNBA Finals drew a 0.3 final rating and 512,000 viewers on ESPN Sunday night, flat in ratings and up 4% in viewership from Lynx/Fever last year (0.3, 493K). There was no Game 4 in 2014. Game 3 of the series had 363,000 viewers, down 8% from last year (432K) and down 34% from the clinching Mercury/Sky Game 3 in 2014 (607K).
No Matthews Bump Yet For NBCSN
- Saturday’s Bruins/Maple Leafs NHL regular season game, which NBCSN added to its schedule after Maple Leafs rookie Auston Matthews scored four goals in his debut, had 114,000 viewers on NBCSN — the network’s smallest audience of the just-started season (five telecasts). The game was blacked out in Boston. Blackhawks/Predators drew 312,000 the previous night.
(Numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 10/18, Sports TV Ratings 10/18, 10/17)
