College football’s bowl season has gotten off to another slow start in the ratings.
Through Monday, seven of eight bowl games on Nielsen-rated networks have declined from last year, with six of those seven hitting historic lows.
Among them, Saturday’s Las Vegas Bowl (Washington-Boise State) averaged a 1.6 rating and 2.64 million viewers on ABC — marking the lowest rated and least-watched edition of the game in five years (2014 Utah-Colorado State: 1.4, 2.12M).
Ratings and viewership fell 29% and 21% respectively from last year (Fresno State-Arizona State: 2.25, 3.33M) and 31% from 2017 (Boise State-Oregon: 2.3, 3.80M).
The game declined despite airing in primetime for the first time in seven years.
The results were even poorer on ESPN. Both the New Orleans Bowl (Appalachian State-UAB) and New Mexico Bowl (San Diego State-Central Michigan) averaged their lowest rating since at least 2008 and smallest audience since at least 2005, while the Camellia Bowl (FIU-Arkansas State) hit record-lows in both measures.
Each of the games fell double-digits from last year, with the New Orleans Bowl down 25% in ratings (to 0.6) and 30% in viewership (to 963K), the New Mexico Bowl down 28% (to 0.49) and 17% (to 802K) and the Camellia Bowl down a third (to 0.43) and 30% (to 692K).
ESPN also posted a steep decline for Monday’s Gasparilla Bowl (UCF-Marshall), which fell 34% to a record-low 1.15 million viewers. That game moved from primetime to the afternoon.
As previously noted, Friday’s Bahamas and Frisco bowls declined double-digits.
The lone exception to the poor start was Saturday’s Boca Raton Bowl (SMU-FAU), which averaged a 1.3 (+63%) and 1.99 million (+48%) on ABC — the highest rated and most-watched edition of that game since 2014 (Marshall-Northern Illinois: 1.4, 2.25M). It was the first edition of the game to air on broadcast television.
The downward trend extended to the FCS, with ABC’s Celebration Bowl (Alcorn State-NC A&T) down 25% in ratings (to 1.2) and 23% in viewership (to 1.81M). ESPN2’s Montana State-North Dakota State FCS semifinal bucked the trend with a 0.33 (+18%) and 518,000 (+16%).
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 12.24]
