For the first time since 2014, the Alabama Crimson Tide were not featured in “ESPN’s Saturday Night Football” opener, and while Nick Saban’s charges tend to reward the networks with big ratings numbers, their arch-rivals Auburn more than made up for their absence. According to Nielsen live-plus-same-day data, Saturday’s matchup between No. 11 Oregon and the 16th-ranked Tigers averaged 6.86 million viewers and a 4.0 household rating on ABC, topping last year’s Louisville-Alabama blowout (4.54 million viewers/2.7 rating) by 51 percent and 48 percent, respectively. Auburn’s come-from-behind victory gave ABC bragging rights to the most-watched, top-rated game of Week 1, topping its own Houston-Oklahoma broadcast on Sunday night (5.44 million/3.0). ESPN’s broadcast sibling undoubtedly benefited from the fourth-quarter heroics of Auburn quarterback Bo Nix. Down 21-20 with just 9 seconds on the game clock, the true freshman connected with Seth Williams for a 26-yard touchdown pass that gave the Tigers the win. To put ABC’s Saturday night deliveries in context, the Oregon-Auburn game now stands as the most-watched sporting event since Fox’s broadcast of the MLB All-Star Game drew 8.14 million viewers and a 5.0 rating on July 9. The college primetime opener also easily out-matched the 2019 NFL Hall of Fame Game exhibition on NBC, which drew 5.33 million viewers and a 3.4 rating on August 1. Here’s another way to look at Saturday night’s numbers. Last season, only 19 episodes... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'
[ Advertising Age | 2019-09-04 17:06:00 UTC ]