For the second straight week, the Buckeyes helped ABC top the college football ratings charts.
Michigan State-Ohio State averaged a 3.9 rating and 6.68 million viewers on ABC’s Saturday Night Football last weekend, edging Auburn-Florida on CBS (3.9, 6.43M) as the most-watched college football game of week six. ABC has aired the top game in four of six weeks this season.
The Buckeyes’ win, which peaked with 8.19 million viewers, also ranks as the highest rated and most-watched Big Ten game of the season. The previous high was set by Ohio State-Nebraska in the same window a week earlier (3.5, 6.14M).
Overall, it delivered the fourth-largest audience of the season and tied the fifth-highest rating. Ratings increased 44% and viewership 49% from Notre Dame-Virginia Tech last year (2.7, 4.47M) and 5% and 3% respectively from Michigan-Michigan State in 2017 (3.7, 6.51M).
ABC also scored increases for its afternoon windows, averaging a 1.9 (+6%) and 3.16 million (+13%) for Texas-West Virginia and a 1.95 (+27%) and 2.98 million (+28%) for Oklahoma-Kansas.
Shifting to cable, ESPN averaged a 2.1 and 3.90 million for Georgia-Tennessee Saturday night, its top game since Notre Dame-Louisville on Labor Day (3.3, 5.60M). Ratings increased 50% and viewership 53% from last year (Kentucky-Texas A&M: 1.4, 2.55M), but fell 22% and 18% respectively from 2017 (Alabama-Texas A&M: 2.7, 4.77M).
Aided by the stronger lead-in, the late night Washington-Stanford game increased 22% in ratings (to a 1.1) and 33% in viewership (to 1.88M). ESPN also scored a big increase for Cincinnati’s upset of UCF on Friday night, which jumped 50% (to 0.9) and 45% (to 1.44M) respectively.
Not all of the news was good. Ratings and viewership sank 40% for Purdue-Penn State Saturday afternoon (0.9, 1.50M). Virginia Tech-Miami posted ESPN’s smallest Saturday audience of the season (not counting FCS games), with a 0.6 (-10%) and 893,000 viewers (-8%).
Temple-ECU last Thursday was ESPN’s lowest rated and least-watched game of the season overall with a 0.24 (-37%) and 374,000 (-33%).
Over on ESPN2, Baylor-Kansas State topped the week six charts with a 0.25 (-43%) and 418,000 (-42%). ESPNU topped out at 360,000 for Kent State-Wisconsin; last year’s comparable figure was unavailable.
