Overnights for the Iron Bowl were the lowest in four years.
The Auburn/Alabama Iron Bowl had a 4.7 overnight rating on the SEC on CBS Saturday afternoon, down 11% from the same matchup last year (5.3) but up 42% from Mississippi State/Mississippi in 2014 (3.3). Compared to the 2014 Iron Bowl, which aired on ESPN in primetime, overnights fell 35% from a 7.2.
The Tide’s easy win ranks as the lowest rated Iron Bowl in the metered markets since 2012, when Alabama won 49-0 (2.2).
For the season, the Iron Bowl ranks fourth out of the 16 SEC on CBS telecasts — behind a primetime Alabama/LSU game in week ten (6.0), Alabama/Mississippi in week three and Texas A&M/Alabama in week eight (5.4 for both). Across all networks, it did not crack the top ten telecasts of the season.
Despite the modest numbers, at least by Iron Bowl standards, Saturday’s game ranked second for the weekend among college football telecasts. Only Michigan/Ohio State did better (10.4). It easily topped Notre Dame/USC head-to-head (3.7).
In other action, Arkansas/Missouri had a mere 1.3 overnight on Friday afternoon — the same as last year and down 50% from in 2014 (2.6), which featured the same matchup. The 1.3 is a season-low for the SEC on CBS, falling below the previous mark of 1.5 for Tennessee/Missouri the previous week.
(Wknd. numbers via Sports Business Daily 11/28)
