For the second week in a row, the dethroning of the nation’s #1 college football team attracted a strong television audience.
ESPN drew a 4.8 overnight rating for Wisconsin’s defeat of #1 Ohio State Saturday night. According to USA Today, the 4.8 overnight is “up 60% from a South Carolina-Alabama game in the time slot last year.”
Saturday’s telecast finished barely behind Game 1 of the NLCS on broadcast network FOX (5.2), and topped college football telecasts on ABC (3.6) and CBS (2.7).
The telecast also handily defeated Saturday’s NASCAR Bank of America 500 on ABC (2.9), which preempted the network’s usual Saturday Night Football telecast.
To put the numbers in perspective, only one of ABC’s Saturday Night Football telecasts this season drew a higher overnight than ESPN’s Ohio State/Wisconsin game — regional action on September 18, which featured Texas/Texas Tech (4.9).
(USA Today, ESPN)
