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 The Bowl Championship Series sees another year come and go, and that means another year of criticism for its format. Ask Utah or USC fans, and they’re bound to tell you the system is a sham. Better yet, ask our incoming president.
But, regardless of whether the BCS is good or bad, this year, it was good tidings for Bowl popularity. For example, Florida’s win over Oklahoma in the BCS Championship game garnered a 15.8 national rating, up 16 percent from last season’s game, according to Nielsen Media Research. And the highest local rating in the country came by way of Oklahoma City, where 51.7 percent of households tuned in to watch the game, while five Florida markets cracked to the top ten. To add to the increase in viewership for the Thursday’s championship game, bowl games in total were up – some in triple percentage points over last season – with the Humanitarian Bowl game between Maryland and Nevada up a whopping 218 percent from last year. All told, gainers (20) outpaced declines (11) in viewers, with one game remaining flat (the Las Vegas Bowl between BYU and Arizona), and two new Bowls (Eaglebank and St. Petersburg) in the mix. Based upon Nielsen’s figures, Bowl games showed an increase of 19 percent in viewership over last year. Below is a total breakdown of the Bowl games for the 2008-2009 season, according to Nielsen Media Research: | 2008-09 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. |
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