USC-Texas ratings fell well short of last year; NBC’s Notre Dame coverage posted a double-digit drop; Dodgers-Cardinals posted increases on FOX and ESPN.
USC-Texas Down Big From Last Year’s Meeting
FOX scored a 1.8 rating and 2.95 million viewers for last Saturday’s USC-Texas college football game, down 38% in ratings and 40% in viewership from the same matchup last year (2.9, 4.91M) and down 47% and 49% respectively from Ohio State-Oklahoma in 2016 (3.4, 5.80M). Despite the decline, it was Fox Sports’ most-watched college game this season.
Head-to-head, the Longhorns’ win trailed both Ohio State-TCU on ABC (4.2, 7.23M) and Alabama-Mississippi on ESPN (2.3, 4.11M).
Earlier in the day, Houston-Texas Tech scored a 0.7 and 1.08 million — down 53% in ratings and 57% in viewership from Army-Ohio State last year (1.5, 2.51M). Over on FS1, Kent State-Penn State topped the week three charts with a 0.43 and 893,000 (+11%).
Notre Dame Down on NBC Last Weekend
Last Saturday’s Vanderbilt-Notre Dame college football game had a 1.4 rating and 2.11 million viewers on NBC, down 22% in ratings and 29% in viewership from NBC’s third Notre Dame game last season, a primetime matchup against USC that took place in late October (1.8, 2.99M). Versus the third telecast in 2016, an afternoon game against Duke in late September, ratings still fell 18% (from 1.7) and viewership 20% (from 2.63M).
Dodgers-Cardinals Up on FOX, ESPN
Regional Major League Baseball action featuring Dodgers-Cardinals in 76% of markets had a 0.8 rating and 1.11 million viewers on FOX Saturday, up a tick in ratings and down 6% in viewership from last year (mostly Dodgers-Nationals: 0.7, 1.05M) but down a third and 34% respectively from 2016 (1.2, 1.68M).
On Sunday, the same Dodgers-Cardinals matchup had a 0.7 and 1.10 million on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball — up a tick in ratings and 29% in viewership from last year (Dodgers-Nationals: 0.6, 855K) but down 28% and 25% respectively from Yankees-Red Sox in 2016 (1.0, 1.47M).
Figures for weekend games on FS1 and TBS were not available. Shifting to the workweek, Cardinals-Braves drew 625,000 on ESPN Tuesday night (-21%). The game faced unexpected competition from a delayed Red Sox-Yankees game on MLB Network (372K).
