SPORTS WRAP College Football Bowls Over Audiences

There’s been no shortage of criticism surrounding the College Football postseason – even the President-elect threw in his two cents – but there’s no denying the bowl season still generates a huge amount of viewer interest.
There is no better bellwether than this year’s BCS National Championship between Oklahoma and Florida. Last night’s FedEx BCS National Championship received a 15.8 rating, up 16% from last year’s game.
In the metered markets, Oklahoma City had the highest local rating, with 51.7% of the Sooners’ home DMA tuning into the game. Five local Florida markets also made the top ten, led by Jacksonville with a 40.2 local rating.
Top 10 Local Markets HH Rating 1/8/09
BCS National Championship
Market | HH Rating |
---|---|
Oklahoma City | 51.7 |
Tulsa | 46.9 |
Birmingham | 41.6 |
Jacksonville | 40.2 |
Tampa-St. Pete (Sarasota) | 32.3 |
Orlando-Daytona Bch-Melbrn | 30.6 |
Austin | 29.9 |
West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce | 29.5 |
Ft. Myers-Naples | 28.2 |
Source: 2009 The Nielsen Company |
Viewership for the other four BCS bowls was also up compared to last year. The Fiesta Bowl between Ohio State and Texas was up 40%, the Sugar Bowl was up 14%, and viewership for the Rose Bowl increased 8%.
Outside the BCS, the positive trend continued with 17 of 27 bowls outperforming last year’s ratings. Most notable were four bowl games airing on ESPN that boasted triple-digit increases in viewership:
- The Humanitarian Bowl between Maryland and Nevada was seen by 3 million viewers, a whopping 218% increase over last year’s game.
- The Hawaii Bowl was proof that Notre Dame still can still deliver a large audience (and a victory), in front of 4.4 million viewers up 119% over last year’s game.
- The Poinsettia Bowl on Dec.23 and the GMAC Bowl on Jan. 6 showed that there is demand for Bowls well before and after New Year’s, sporting 115% and 113% increases in viewers, respectively.
Below is a full recap of national viewers for this year’s bowl games.
2008-9 College Football Bowl Game National Viewers | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
BOWL | NETWORK | MATCHUP | VIEWERS P2+ | % Change YAGO |
BCS TITLE | FOX | OKLAHOMA/FLORIDA | 26,767,000 | 16% |
ROSE | ABC | PENN STATE/USC | 20,603,000 | 8% |
FIESTA | FOX | TEXAS/OHIO STATE | 17,056,000 | 40% |
SUGAR | FOX | UTAH/ALABAMA | 13,369,000 | 14% |
CAPITAL ONE | ABC | GEORGIA/MICHIGAN STATE | 10,839,000 | -27% |
ORANGE | FOX | VIRGINIA TECH/CINCINNATI | 9,319,000 | -22% |
CHAMPS SPORTS | ESPN | WISCONSIN/FLORIDA STATE | 7,059,000 | 51% |
GATOR | CBS | NEBRASKA/CLEMSON | 6,603,000 | 64% |
EMERALD | ESPN | MIAMI (FL)/CALIFORNIA | 6,508,000 | 40% |
COTTON | FOX | MISSISSIPPI/TEXAS TECH | 6,407,000 | 13% |
HOLIDAY | ESPN | OKLAHOMA ST/OREGON | 6,220,000 | 9% |
ALAMO | ESPN | MISSOURI/NORTHWESTERN | 6,076,000 | 59% |
MEINEKE CAR CARE | ESPN | WEST VIRGINIA/NORTH CAROLINA | 5,881,000 | 26% |
CHICK-FIL-A | ESPN | LSU/GEORGIA TECH | 5,635,000 | -25% |
POINSETTIA | ESPN | BOISE STATE/TCU | 5,061,000 | 115% |
HAWAII | ESPN | HAWAII/NOTRE DAME | 4,413,000 | 119% |
OUTBACK | ESPN | SOUTH CAROLINA/IOWA | 4,093,000 | -10% |
MUSIC CITY | ESPN | BOSTON COLLEGE/VANDERBILT | 3,646,000 | -31% |
LIBERTY | ESPN | KENTUCKY/EAST CAROLINA | 3,607,000 | -33% |
SUN | CBS | OREGON ST/PITTSBURGH | 3,475,000 | 9% |
MOTOR CITY | ESPN | FLORIDA ATLANTIC/CENTRAL MICH | 3,437,000 | 1% |
NEW MEXICO | ESPN | COLORADO ST/FRESNO ST | 3,432,000 | 46% |
LAS VEGAS | ESPN | BYU/ARIZONA | 3,389,000 | 0% |
HUMANITARIAN | ESPN | MARYLAND/NEVADA | 3,039,000 | 218% |
EAGLEBANK | ESPN | WAKE FOREST/NAVY | 2,875,000 | NEW |
GMAC | ESPN | BALL STATE/TULSA | 2,831,000 | 113% |
INTERNATIONAL | ESPN2 | BUFFALO/CONNECTICUT | 2,670,000 | 36% |
PAPAJOHNS.COM | ESPN | N.C. STATE/RUTGERS | 2,372,000 | -14% |
ARMED FORCES | ESPN | HOUSTON/AIR FORCE | 2,050,000 | -21% |
ST. PETERSBURG | ESPN2 | MEMPHIS/SOUTH FLORIDA | 1,661,000 | NEW |
INDEPENDENCE | ESPN | NORTHERN ILLINOIS/LA TECH | 1,207,000 | -53% |
NEW ORLEANS | ESPN | SOUTHERN MISS/TROY | 1,115,000 | -48% |
INSIGHT | NFLN | KANSAS/MINNESOTA | 731,000 | 5% |
TEXAS | NFLN | WESTERN MICHIGAN/RICE | 186,000 | -64% |
Source: 2009 The Nielsen Company Covereage Area Estimates (% of US TV Homes): ESPN 86%, ESPN2 85%, NFLN 37%. Live + Same Day Viewing NOTE: This table was updated on 1/9/09 at 5:10pm. |
https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/article/2009/sports-wrap-college-football-bowls-over-audiences/