Pac-12 Championship ratings were nothing spectacular, but still hit an ESPN high.
Last Friday’s USC-Stanford Pac-12 title game had a 2.3 rating and 3.65 million viewers on ESPN, down 32% in ratings and 36% in viewership from last year on FOX (Washington-Stanford: 3.4, 5.7M) but up 44% and 42% from the same matchup on ESPN in 2015 (1.6, 2.6M).
ESPN Nielsen ratings now include streaming viewership on television; comparisons are to last year’s TV-only numbers.
The Trojans’ win ranks as the highest rated and most-watched Pac-12 Championship on ESPN (three telecasts). The previous two times ESPN televised the game, it aired in a crowded Saturday night window opposite the Big Ten and ACC title games. It still trails the four title games on FOX.
Friday’s game was the lowest rated and least-watched of the Power 5 conference championships, no surprise given it was the only one to air on cable.
For the night, however, it was television’s top program in adults 18-49 (1.0) and adults 18-34 (0.8) — no small feat given all of the “Big Four” broadcast networks were airing original programming.
The college football ratings page is available here.
Pac-12 Championship Ratings, Viewership, All-Time
| TV+streaming numbers in (parentheses) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Game | Margin | Night | Net | Rtg. | Vwrs. |
| 2017 | #10 USC-#12 STAN | USC +3 | Fri. | ESPN | 2.3 | (3.66M) |
| 2016 | #4 WASH-#8 COLO | WASH +31 | Fri. | FOX | 3.4 | 5.67M |
| 2015 | #7 STAN-#20 USC | STAN +19 | Sat. | ESPN | 1.6 | 2.58M |
| 2014 | #2 ORE-#7 ARIZ | ORE +37 | Fri. | FOX | 3.7 | 6.00M |
| 2013 | #7 STAN-#11 ASU | STAN +24 | Sat. | ESPN | 0.9 | 1.45M |
| 2012 | #8 STAN-#16 USC | STAN +3 | Fri. | FOX | 3.0 | 4.87M |
| 2011 | #9 ORE-UCLA | ORE +18 | Fri. | FOX | 2.9 | 4.49M |
[Numbers via Programming Insider 12.7]
