ESPN, ABC Score With College Pigskin
Ratings Up 33% From Last Year
By Larry Barrett -- Multichannel News, 11/7/2008 6:05:00 AM
ESPN on ABC’s Saturday Night Football continue to post impressive ratings this season, delivering an average of more than 5.4 million households, or a 4.8 rating, up 33% from the same period last year.
Saturday’s slugfest between Texas and Texas Tech averaged nearly 8.6 million households, or a 7.5 rating, making it the network’s fifth most-viewed regular-season college football game ever. It was also the network’s most-watched game of the current season.
Network officials said for the second consecutive week, the Saturday Night Football telecast helped boost ABC to win for the night in all viewing households as well as decisive wins among viewers 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54.
Overall, college football on ABC is averaging 4,608,000 households and a 4.0 rating, marking increases of 14% (vs. 4,040,000) and 11% (vs. 3.6) over last year.
ESPN’s College Football Primetime is averaging 2,591,000 households, based on a 2.7 rating through November 1, marking increases of 9% (vs. 2,369,000) and 8% (vs. 2.5) over last year at the same point.
Overall, ESPN is averaging 2,020,000 households and a 2.1 rating for its college football coverage, marking increases of 2% in households (vs. 1,973,000) and 5% in ratings (vs. 2.0) over last year.
