For the second-straight week, “Big Noon Saturday” delivered a big increase in ratings on FOX.
Last Saturday’s Army-Michigan college football game averaged a 3.1 rating and 4.72 million viewers on FOX, up 66% in ratings and 63% in viewership from UCLA-Oklahoma last year (1.8, 2.90M), and easily the weekend’s top game in the Noon ET window.
The Wolverines’ double-overtime win topped ABC’s competing Cincinnati-Ohio State game by 61% in ratings (vs. 1.9) and 60% in viewership (vs. 2.94M).
Both Noon games on FOX this season have won their timeslot and increased substantially over last year. FOX is using Noon as its primary game window this season.
Aided by the strong lead-in, Nebraska-Colorado averaged a 2.0 and 3.45 million later Saturday — up 67% in ratings and 71% in viewership from last year (Iowa State-Iowa: 1.2, 2.02M) and up a third in both measures from 2017 (Nebraska-Oregon: 1.5, 2.59M).
All four afternoon games on FOX this season have increased by at least 60%.
Rounding out the FOX slate, Buffalo-Penn State pulled a 1.3 and 2.17 million in primetime — down 7% in ratings and 5% in viewership from last year (USC-Stanford: 1.4, 2.29M), but up 8% and 5% respectively from 2017 (Stanford-USC: 1.2, 2.07M).
Over on FS1, Rutgers-Iowa averaged a 0.32 (-47%) and 545,000 (-40%) and Cal-Washington a 0.20 and 323,000 (+39%) on Saturday.
[Nielsen estimates via ShowBuzz Daily 9.10]
