Iron Bowl ratings sank by a third, but the game still did well.
Last Saturday’s Auburn-Alabama Iron Bowl earned a 5.1 rating and 9.13 million viewers on CBS, down a third in ratings and viewership from last year (7.6, 13.7M), but up 13% and 11% respectively from 2016 (4.5, 8.24M).
The Tide’s easy win topped only 2016 as the rivals’ lowest rated and least-watched matchup since 2012 (2.4, 3.9M).
If soft by Iron Bowl standards, it still delivered the fourth-best rating and viewership of the season. The game trailed only Michigan-Ohio State on FOX earlier in the day (7.5, 13.2M), Alabama-LSU on CBS earlier this month (6.6, 11.5M) and Ohio State-Penn State on ABC in September (5.3, 9.14M).
After a hot start to the season, SEC on CBS ratings have cooled in recent weeks. The Iron Bowl was the fifth-straight game on the network to decline, after eight of the previous ten increased.
Three of Alabama’s five appearances on CBS this season have declined.
On Black Friday, CBS drew a mere 1.92 million viewers for Arkansas-Missouri — down 23% from both last year and 2016 (2.50M both years). It was the least-watched SEC game on CBS this season.
The full list of week twelve college football ratings is available here.
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 11.29]
