- ESPN and ABC Combine for Prime-time Average Audience of 7.3 Million; Peaking at 8.7 Million
- ESPN and ABC Combine for Prime-time Average Audience of 7.3 Million; Peaking at 8.7 Million
College football resulted in ESPN and ABC airing the two most-watched sporting events in prime-time on Saturday, Nov. 10, and driving the networks to win the night– among sports and non-sports programming. Both networks primetime game telecasts also averaged a higher audience than nearly every other network’s prime-time telecast — sports and non-sports. The success capped a college football weekend where both networks saw a year-over-year audience gain in another game window and ESPN2 saw a significant jump in audience for its Friday night doubleheader.
Auburn-Georgia, Clemson-Boston College were College Football’s Two Most-Watched Primetime Games
ESPN’s telecast of Auburn at Georgia (7 p.m. ET) averaged a Nielsen total live audience of 3,987,000 viewers and ABC’s Saturday Night Football featuring Clemson at Boston College (8 p.m.) averaged a total live audience of 3,930,000 viewers, the two most-watched prime-time games of the week. The two networks, combined, averaged 7,359,000 viewers* between 8-11 p.m., peaking at 8,712,000 viewers (9:15 – 9:30 p.m.).
Among its college football competition, ESPN topped the broadcast networks by 26% and 49%, while ABC topped the same competition by 24% and 47%.
Winning the Night: ESPN and ABC Garner the Most Households, Viewers and Leads in All Key Demos
ESPN and ABC finished either No. 1 or No. 2 in households, total viewers and all key male/adult demos in prime-time November 10, with ESPN winning the night among all key male and adults demos (18-34, 18-49, 25-54) and ABC winning the night among households and P2+ viewers.
Bedlam! Oklahoma State at Oklahoma Generates Year-Over-Year Gains, Peaks at Nearly 7 Million Viewers
ABC’s telecast of Oklahoma State at Oklahoma (3:30 p.m.) generated an audience gain of 21% for the network from the same window last year, as the annual Bedlam game averaged a total live audience of 3,992,000 viewers. The audience grew in the second half, peaking at 6,832,000 viewers (7:15-7:30 p.m.) as Oklahoma State attempted a two point conversion with a minute to go in the fourth quarter. The audience for the one-point Sooners’ victory was up 57% from last year’s same game which aired on a competitor’s network. In Oklahoma City and Tulsa, the game drew a 34.7 and 33.3 rating, respectively, setting new multi-year highs in the market, as announced Sunday.
ESPN began its Saturday airing South Carolina at Florida (noon), which averaged a Nielsen total live audience of 2,068,000 viewers, up from the same window last season.
ESPN2 Friday Night Doubleheader Results in 53% Year-Over-Year Audience Gain
ESPN2’s Friday night doubleheader featuring Louisville at Syracuse (7 p.m.) and Fresno State at Boise State (10:30 p.m.) was up 53% from last year’s week 11 Friday night doubleheader on the network.
*Includes a portion of California at USC on ESPN, which began at 10:30 p.m. ET
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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; Derek.Volner@ESPN.com and @DerekVolner
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