FOX scored a big jump in ratings for the debut of its “Big Noon Saturday” college football coverage.
Saturday’s Florida Atlantic-Ohio State college football game averaged a 1.6 rating and 2.62 million viewers on FOX, up 78% in ratings and 89% in viewership from FAU-Oklahoma last year (0.9, 1.39M).
The Buckeyes’ win was Saturday’s most-watched college football game on any network in the Noon ET window, topping ABC’s competing Mississippi-Memphis game (1.2, 1.88M).
Compared to Ohio State’s season opener last year, which aired on ABC in the same Noon window, ratings fell 27% (from 2.2) and viewership 25% (from 3.49M).
The debut of the “Big Noon Saturday” pregame show averaged 838,000 viewers, compared to 2.41 million for the competing hour of ESPN’s College Gameday, per The Athletic reporter Richard Deitsch.
Later Saturday, FOX averaged a 1.3 and 2.02 million for Northwestern-Stanford — up 117% in ratings and viewership from last year (UNC-Cal: 0.6, 930K) and up 86% and 82% respectively from 2017 (UTEP-Oklahoma: 0.7, 1.11M).
Over on FS1, Northern Iowa-Iowa State averaged a 0.31 and 493,000 — down 61% in both measures from last year (0.8, 1.27M) and down 74% and 76% respectively from 2017 (1.2, 2.05M), both of which pit Texas against Maryland.
FS1 fared better on Friday, posting a 0.49 (+29%) and 789,000 (+32%) for Oklahoma State-Oregon State and a 0.6 and 939,000 for Tulsa-Michigan State. As previously reported, the network also posted a double-digit bump for South Dakota State-Minnesota on Thursday.
[Nielsen estimates via ShowBuzz Daily 9.4, Richard Deitsch/Twitter 9.4]
