After a rough start to the season, CBS SEC ratings rebounded last weekend.
Georgia-Auburn scored a 4.4 rating and 7.4 million viewers on the SEC on CBS Saturday, up 52% in ratings and 48% in viewership from the same matchup last year (2.9, 5.0M) and up 29% and 37% respectively from Alabama-Mississippi State in 2015 (3.4, 5.4M).
The Tigers’ rout of the then-#1 Bulldogs ranks as the highest rated and most-watched game on CBS all season. The previous highs were a 3.9 and 6.7 million for LSU-Alabama the previous week, which aired in primetime.
It was also the first game on CBS to increase over last year, snapping a streak of 10 straight declines.
Saturday’s game took top honors on a packed college football weekend, finishing ahead of Alabama’s near-upset against Mississippi State on ESPN (3.9, 7.0M) and the much-hyped Notre Dame-Miami clash on ABC (3.9, 6.7M). It was just the second time in 11 weeks that the SEC on CBS has topped the charts.
For the season, it was the fifth-most watched game on any network. Four of the top eight have involved at least one SEC team. That matches the Big Ten for the most of any conference.
The week eleven college football ratings chart is available here.
[Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 11.14]
