A top ten clash between Auburn and LSU delivered one of the top college football ratings this season.
Auburn-LSU averaged a 4.3 rating and 7.18 million viewers on the SEC on CBS last Saturday, marking the fourth-highest rating and viewership of the college football season.
LSU’s win trails only Notre Dame-Georgia on CBS in week four (5.4, 9.35M), LSU-Texas on ABC in week two (5.0, 8.65M), and Oklahoma-Texas on FOX in week seven (4.5, 7.32M).
As goes without saying, it was the top college football game of week nine, ahead of Notre Dame-Michigan on ABC in primetime (3.8, 6.75M) and Wisconsin-Ohio State on FOX earlier in the day (4.2, 6.65M). CBS has topped the charts in three of nine weeks this season.
The game was also the highest rated between Auburn and LSU since 2010 (4.5, 7.34M). That was the last time they met as top ten teams.
Ratings increased 10% and viewership 13% from last year (3.9, 6.35M) and 115% and 112% respectively from 2017 (2.0, 3.38M). Both of those games pit Georgia against Florida.
CBS is now averaging 5.83 million viewers for SEC coverage this season (+8%), its highest average at this point of the season since 2016.
Birmingham, Ala., led all markets for Saturday’s game with a 40.3 rating and 57 share. New Orleans ranked second at a 27.7/47.* Columbus, Ohio (13.0), Atlanta (12.4) and Jacksonville (11.3) rounded out the top five.
* New Orleans is no longer included in Nielsen overnight ratings, but its data is still available on a delayed basis.
[Nielsen estimates from CBS Sports, ShowBuzz Daily 10.29]
