BCS fumble:
Ratings dip in 'Bama sweep
ESPN game averages 24.2 million total viewers
By Toni Fitzgerald
Jan 11, 2012
November's close game between No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama delivered the best college football ratings in 20 years for CBS, so it stood to reason that Monday's Bowl Championship Series national championship game between the same two teams would do well on ESPN.
But a listless LSU team fell behind early, and Alabama captured its second title in three years in a blowout game that drew much lower ratings than last year's game.
ESPN averaged a 14.0 household rating for Monday's 8 p.m. game, according to Nielsen, down 9 percent from last year, when Auburn-Oregon averaged a 15.3.
It was down even more in total viewers, 11 percent, from 27.3 million to 24.2 million.
That was still a huge audience for cable, and in fact the game was the second-most-watched program in cable history, behind only last year's contest, the first to air on cable after years on broadcast.
But it was also the second-least-watched national championship game since the BCS's inception more than a decade ago, behind only USC-Oklahoma in 2005, which averaged 21.4 million viewers.
It's hard to criticize a game that set a cable record, but Monday's national championship was not what ESPN had hoped for.
The game was low-scoring, with Alabama kicking three field goals to set the halftime score of 9-0, and that made for a dull contest.
LSU's offense was terrible, totaling just five first downs and 92 total yards.
When a game is that one-sided, people are bound to tune out, which is just what happened.
It didn't help that there was some controversy over who should be playing in the championship game to begin with. Some argued that Alabama had already gotten its chance in that 9-6 overtime loss to LSU in November, and another one-loss team, like Oklahoma State, deserved the berth in the final game instead.
The lackluster BCS final matchup has sparked renewed speculation that BCS organizers will tweak the approach they use to choose the national champion.
They changed the setup a few years ago in response to public discontent, adding a fifth BCS game and moving it back a few days to allow the other games to play out before the finale.
***
In cable ratings for the week ended Jan. 8:
Top five networks in primetime (18-49s): ESPN, TBS, USA, History, A&E.
Top five networks in primetime (total viewers): ESPN, Disney Channel, USA, History, TBS.
Top five cable news networks in primetime (25-54): Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, HLN, CNBC.
Top five cable news programs (total viewers): 1 Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Thursday, 8 p.m.); 2. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Wednesday, 8 p.m.); 3. Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" (Friday, 8 p.m.); 4. Fox News Channel's "Iowa Caucus" (Tuesday, 9 p.m.) 5. Fox News Channel's "Iowa Caucus" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.);
Top movie (18-49s): No movie during the week made the top 50 in 18-49s.
Top sporting event (total viewers): ESPN's "College Football: Wisconsin/Oregon" (Monday, 5.07 p.m.) 17.56 million.
Shows making the top 10 among 18-34s, 18-49s and 25-54s: ESPN's "College Football: Wisconsin/Oregon" (Monday, 5:07 p.m.); ESPN's "College Football: Stanford/Oklahoma State" (Monday, 8:47 p.m.); ESPN's "Fiesta Bowl Sustainer" (Monday, 12:28 a.m.); MTV's "Jersey Shore" (Thursday, 10 p.m.); ESPN's "College Football: Michigan/Virginia Tech" (Tuesday, 8:25 p.m.); ESPN's "College Football: West Virginia/Clemson" (Wednesday, 8:30 p.m.); ESPN's "BCS Bowl Studio" (Monday, 12:36 a.m.);
Show on the rise: Disney Channel's "Wizards of Waverly Place," Friday, 8 p.m. The series finale averaged 9.8 million total viewers, an all-time high.
Show on the decline: MTV's "Jersey Shore," Thursday, 10 p.m. The season premiere brought in a solid 7.6 million total viewers, but that was down 14 percent from 8.8 million for the season four premiere in August.
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Ranked on Household Rating
Week Ending Jan. 8 |
|
Rank |
Primetime |
Total Day |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1 |
ESPN |
3663 |
ESPN |
1530 |
|
2 |
USA |
2069 |
NICK |
1386 |
|
3 |
DSNY |
2032 |
DSNY |
1374 |
|
4 |
HIST |
1522 |
USA |
1138 |
|
5 |
TBSC |
1439 |
ADSM* |
1016 |
|
6 |
FOXN |
1412 |
TNT |
923 |
|
7 |
AEN |
1352 |
FOXN |
904 |
|
8 |
TNT |
1280 |
NAN * |
898 |
|
9 |
DISC |
1106 |
HIST |
803 |
|
10 |
FOOD |
1088 |
TOON |
798 |
|
11 |
ADSM |
1050 |
AEN |
767 |
|
12 |
MTV |
935 |
TBSC |
743 |
|
13 |
HGTV |
929 |
HGTV |
626 |
|
14 |
FAM |
896 |
FOOD |
609 |
|
15 |
NAN |
896 |
DISC |
578 |
|
16 |
FX |
873 |
FX |
558 |
|
17 |
AMC |
845 |
MTV |
540 |
|
18 |
TRU |
845 |
TVLD |
540 |
|
19 |
TLC |
840 |
AMC |
524 |
|
20 |
SYFY |
816 |
ID |
494 |
|
21 |
LIF |
813 |
FAM |
487 |
|
22 |
BRAV |
712 |
LIF |
475 |
|
23 |
TVLD |
689 |
TLC |
452 |
|
24 |
VH1 |
592 |
TRU |
449 |
|
25 |
SPK |
583 |
SPK |
412 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 25 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE PROGRAMS
Ranked on Households
Week Ending Jan. 8 |
|
Rank
|
Program |
Net
|
(000) |
|
1 |
Wisconsin/Oregon |
ESPN |
11665 |
|
2 |
Stanford/Oklahoma State |
ESPN |
9604 |
|
3 |
Fiesta Bowl Sustainer |
ESPN |
7355 |
|
4 |
Michigan/Virginia Tech |
ESPN |
6959 |
|
5 |
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
5770 |
|
6 |
Wizards Of Waverly Place |
DSNY |
5608 |
|
7 |
West Virginia/Clemson |
ESPN |
5216 |
|
8 |
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
4499 |
|
9 |
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
4440 |
|
10 |
Jessie |
DSNY |
4346 |
|
11 |
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
4027 |
|
12 |
American Pickers |
HIST |
3935 |
|
13 |
Storage Wars |
AEN |
3653 |
|
14 |
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
3500 |
|
15 |
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
3346 |
|
16 |
Wizards Of Waverly Place |
DSNY |
3335 |
|
17 |
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
3330 |
|
18 |
Nebraska/South Carolina |
ESPN |
3281 |
|
19 |
Storage Wars |
AEN |
3276 |
|
20 |
WWE Raw |
USA |
3175 |
|
21 |
Gold Rush |
DISC |
3141 |
|
22 |
WWE Raw |
USA |
3005 |
|
23 |
Spongebob |
NICK |
2976 |
|
24 |
NCIS |
USA |
2973 |
|
25 |
2012 West Virginia/Clemson |
ESPN |
2964 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending Jan. 8 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN |
1077 |
ESPN |
483 |
|
2
|
TBSC |
667 |
ADSM* |
479 |
|
3
|
MTV |
563 |
NICK |
345 |
|
4
|
USA |
469 |
NAN * |
339 |
|
5
|
HIST |
421 |
TBSC |
315 |
|
6
|
ADSM |
404 |
MTV |
305 |
|
7
|
AEN |
385 |
USA |
283 |
|
8
|
DISC |
372 |
DSNY |
265 |
|
9
|
FX |
368 |
FX |
226 |
|
10
|
TNT |
358 |
AEN |
224 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-34
Week Ending Jan. 8 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
3955 |
|
2
|
Wisconsin/Oregon |
ESPN |
3155 |
|
3
|
Stanford/Oklahoma State |
ESPN |
2814 |
|
4
|
Fiesta Bowl Sustainer |
ESPN |
2705 |
|
5
|
Michigan/Virginia Tech |
ESPN |
2200 |
|
6
|
Teen Mom II Season 2 |
MTV |
1872 |
|
7
|
Kourtney & Kim Take New York |
EN |
1589 |
|
8
|
Kourtney & Kim Take New York |
EN |
1588 |
|
9
|
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
1584 |
|
10
|
West Virginia/Clemson |
ESPN |
1487 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Jan. 8 |
|
Rank |
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN |
2242 |
ESPN |
962 |
|
2
|
TBSC |
1176 |
ADSM* |
677 |
|
3
|
USA |
971 |
USA |
559 |
|
4
|
HIST |
958 |
TBSC |
552 |
|
5
|
AEN |
890 |
NICK |
537 |
|
6
|
DISC |
795 |
NAN * |
511 |
|
7
|
TNT |
748 |
AEN |
484 |
|
8
|
MTV |
738 |
TNT |
474 |
|
9
|
FX |
677 |
HIST |
470 |
|
10
|
FOOD |
659 |
DSNY |
420 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 18-49
Week Ending Jan. 8 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Wisconsin/Oregon |
ESPN |
7007 |
|
2
|
Stanford/Oklahoma State |
ESPN |
6030 |
|
3
|
Fiesta Bowl Sustainer |
ESPN |
5234 |
|
4
|
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
5165 |
|
5
|
Michigan/Virginia Tech |
ESPN |
4410 |
|
6
|
West Virginia/Clemson |
ESPN |
3092 |
|
7
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
3049 |
|
8
|
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
3026 |
|
9
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
2993 |
|
10
|
American Pickers |
HIST |
2784 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE NETWORKS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending Jan. 8 |
|
|
PRIME TIME |
TOTAL DAY |
|
Rank
|
Net |
(000) |
Net |
(000) |
|
1
|
ESPN |
2344 |
ESPN |
957 |
|
2
|
HIST |
1091 |
USA |
570 |
|
3
|
TBSC |
1080 |
HIST |
520 |
|
4
|
USA |
1012 |
TNT |
513 |
|
5
|
AEN |
952 |
TBSC |
500 |
|
6
|
DISC |
850 |
AEN |
492 |
|
7
|
TNT |
777 |
ADSM* |
469 |
|
8
|
FOOD |
722 |
NICK |
415 |
|
9
|
TRU |
652 |
DISC |
408 |
|
10
|
FX |
620 |
FOOD |
366 |
|
* Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24-hour day.
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
TOP 10 AD-SUPPORTED CABLE SHOWS
Adults 25-54
Week Ending Jan. 8 |
|
Rank |
PROGRAM |
NET |
(000) |
|
1
|
Wisconsin/Oregon |
ESPN |
7596 |
|
2
|
Stanford/Oklahoma State |
ESPN |
6378 |
|
3
|
Fiesta Bowl Sustainer |
ESPN |
5208 |
|
4
|
Michigan/Virginia Tech |
ESPN |
4440 |
|
5
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
3445 |
|
6
|
Pawn Stars |
HIST |
3371 |
|
7
|
Jersey Shore Season 5 |
MTV |
3310 |
|
8
|
American Pickers |
HIST |
3297 |
|
9
|
West Virginia/Clemson |
ESPN |
3229 |
|
10
|
BCS Bowl Studio |
ESPN |
2961 |
|
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen data |
|
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