One of the biggest games on the SEC calendar was less of a draw this year.
The Auburn/Alabama Iron Bowl had a 4.5 final rating and 8.2 million viewers on the SEC on CBS last weekend, down 15% in ratings and 11% in viewership from the teams’ meeting last year (5.3, 9.3M) and down 36% and 39% respectively from their 2014 matchup, which aired in primetime on ESPN (7.4, 13.5M).
The Tide’s win ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched Iron Bowl in four years, since Alabama won 49-0 in 2012 (2.4, 3.9M).
For the season, the Iron Bowl ranks as the fourth-highest rated and third-most watched game on CBS — trailing Alabama’s games against LSU (5.8, 10.4M), Texas A&M (5.0, 8.5M) and Mississippi (5.0) in one or both measures. Across all networks, it was the 11th-highest rated and 8th-most watched.
In other action, CBS pulled a mere 1.5 and 2.5 million for Arkansas/Missouri last Friday — down a tick in ratings but up 5% in viewership from last year (1.6, 2.4M) and down 44% and 43% respectively from 2014 (2.7, 4.4M), both of which featured the same matchup. The 1.5 rating is the lowest for the SEC on CBS in at least eight years, matching a pair of games this season and Georgia/Vanderbilt in 2013.
(Wknd. numbers from Nielsen)
