Michigan/Ohio State was not the only rivalry game to hit a multi-year high on ABC.
Florida/Florida State earned a 3.6 final rating and 6.4 million viewers on ABC’s Saturday Night Football last weekend, up 29% in ratings and 34% in viewership from Oklahoma/Oklahoma State last year (2.8, 4.8M) and up 89% and 95%, respectively, from Oregon/Oregon State on rivalry weekend in 2014 (1.9, 3.3M).
Compared to previous Florida/FSU games, ratings and viewership increased 50% from last year (2.4, 4.3M) and a tick and 8%, respectively, from 2014 (3.5, 6.0M). Both of those aired on ESPN. It was the highest rated and most-watched game between the rivals since 2012, the last time they played on ABC (5.1, 8.5M).
Earlier in the day, Notre Dame/USC scored a 3.4 and 5.7 million — up 31% in ratings and 35% in viewership from regional action featuring USC/UCLA last year (2.6, 4.2M) and up 42% in both measures from another regional window in 2014 (2.4, 4.0M). The Trojans’ win was their highest rated and most-watched matchup with Notre Dame since 2012, when then-#1 Notre Dame clinched a berth in the BCS title game (9.4, 16.1M).
Figures do not include streaming viewership on WatchESPN. With those numbers included, Florida/FSU had 6.5 million viewers and Notre Dame/USC inched up from 5.695 million to 5.723 million.
As previously reported, Michigan/Ohio State started the day off with a 9.4 and 16.8 million.
In other action, Nebraska/Iowa had a 2.4 and 4.2 million Friday afternoon — down 38% in ratings and 33% in viewership from the same matchup last year (3.9, 6.2M) and up 26% and 42%, respectively, from Stanford/UCLA in 2014 (1.9, 2.9M). Houston/Memphis scored a 1.9 (-10%) and 3.1 million (+1%) earlier in the day.
(Wknd. numbers from Nielsen)
