SEC Championship ratings were the highest in four years, and the highest of the college football season.
Last Saturday’s Georgia-Auburn SEC Championship Game earned an 8.0 rating and 13.5 million viewers on CBS, up 21% in ratings and viewership from last year (6.6, 11.1M) and up 3% and 6% respectively from 2015 (7.8, 12.8M), both of which pit Alabama against Florida.
The Bulldogs’ win ranks as the highest rated and most-watched SEC Championship since Auburn’s previous appearance, 2013 against Missouri (8.6, 14.4M).
The 8.0 rating is the fifth-highest for any conference championship game dating back to 2001. The SEC has generated the five highest ratings over that span — and eight of the top nine. Viewership was the sixth-highest dating back to ’01.
Saturday’s game was the highest rated of the season on any network, topping the previous high of 7.6 for the Alabama-Auburn “Iron Bowl” one week earlier. It trails the Iron Bowl as the most-watched (13.7M).
The SEC Championship completed a major turnaround for the SEC on CBS this season. After the first ten windows declined, five of the final six posted an increase in ratings and viewership.
The strong finish was not enough to overcome the slow start, as CBS averaged a 3.0 rating and 5.0 million viewers for its SEC package this season — down 12% in ratings and viewership from last year (3.4, 5.7M). The 3.0 rating is the lowest for the SEC on CBS in at least a decade. The package averaged a 4.5 rating as recently as 2013.
Highest CFB Conference Championship Ratings, Viewership (2001-present)
| This year’s games highlighted | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest Rated | Most-Watched | ||||||
| # | Year | Game | Rtg. | # | Year | Game | Vwrs. |
| 1 | 2009 | SEC: ALA-UF | 11.1 | 1 | 2009 | SEC: ALA-UF | 17.97M |
| 2 | 2012 | SEC: ALA-UGA | 9.8 | 2 | 2012 | SEC: ALA-UGA | 16.20M |
| 3 | 2008 | SEC: UF-ALA | 9.3 | 3 | 2008 | SEC: UF-ALA | 15.06M |
| 4 | 2013 | SEC: AUB-MIZ | 8.6 | 4 | 2013 | SEC: AUB-MIZ | 14.35M |
| 5 | 2017 | SEC: UGA-AUB | 8.0 | 5 | 2013 | B10: OSU-MSU | 13.90M |
| T6 | 2013 | B10: OSU-MSU | 7.9 | 6 | 2017 | SEC: UGA-AUB | 13.47M |
| T6 | 2001 | SEC: LSU-TN | 7.9 | 7 | 2017 | B10: OSU-WI | 12.92M |
| T8 | 2015 | SEC: ALA-UF | 7.8 | 8 | 2014 | SEC: ALA-MIZ | 12.80M |
| T8 | 2014 | SEC: ALA-MIZ | 7.8 | 9 | 2015 | SEC: ALA-UF | 12.76M |
| 10 | 2009 | B12: TEX-NEB | 7.5 | 10 | 2009 | B12: TEX-NEB | 12.69M |
[Numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 12.5, CBS Sports]
