Neilsen Ratings Comparison: CFB Bowl Games

[Orlando Vol]

FYI...

2008-9 College Football Bowl Game National Viewers

BOWL -- NETWORK -- MATCHUP -- 2008-9 -- 2007-8

BCS TITLE -- FOX -- OKLAHOMA/FLORIDA -- 26,767,000 -- 22,484,280
ROSE -- ABC -- PENN STATE/USC -- 20,603,000 -- 18,954,760
FIESTA -- FOX -- TEXAS/OHIO STATE -- 17,056,000 -- 10,233,600
SUGAR -- FOX -- UTAH/ALABAMA -- 13,369,000 -- 11,497,340
CAPITAL ONE -- ABC -- GEORGIA/MICHIGAN STATE -- 10,839,000 -- 13,765,530
ORANGE -- FOX -- VIRGINIA TECH/CINCINNATI -- 9,319,000 -- 11,369,180
CHAMPS SPORTS -- ESPN -- WISCONSIN/FLORIDA STATE -- 7,059,000 -- 3,458,910
GATOR -- CBS -- NEBRASKA/CLEMSON -- 6,603,000 -- 2,377,080
EMERALD -- ESPN -- MIAMI (FL)/CALIFORNIA -- 6,508,000 -- 3,904,800
COTTON -- FOX -- MISSISSIPPI/TEXAS TECH -- 6,407,000 -- 5,574,090
HOLIDAY -- ESPN -- OKLAHOMA ST/OREGON -- 6,220,000 -- 5,660,200
ALAMO -- ESPN -- MISSOURI/NORTHWESTERN -- 6,076,000 -- 2,491,160
MEINEKE CAR CARE -- ESPN -- WEST VIRGINIA/NORTH CAROLINA -- 5,881,000 -- 4,351,940

CHICK-FIL-A -- ESPN -- LSU/GEORGIA TECH -- 5,635,000 -- 7,043,750

POINSETTIA -- ESPN -- BOISE STATE/TCU -- 5,061,000 -- 759,150
HAWAII -- ESPN -- HAWAII/NOTRE DAME -- 4,413,000 -- 838,470

OUTBACK -- ESPN -- SOUTH CAROLINA/IOWA -- 4,093,000 -- 4,502,300

MUSIC CITY -- ESPN -- BOSTON COLLEGE/VANDERBILT -- 3,646,000 -- 4,776,260
LIBERTY -- ESPN -- KENTUCKY/EAST CAROLINA -- 3,607,000 -- 4,797,310
SUN -- CBS -- OREGON ST/PITTSBURGH -- 3,475,000 -- 3,162,250
MOTOR CITY -- ESPN -- FLORIDA ATLANTIC/CENTRAL MICH -- 3,437,000 -- 3,402,630
NEW MEXICO -- ESPN -- COLORADO ST/FRESNO ST -- 3,432,000 -- 1,853,280
LAS VEGAS -- ESPN -- BYU/ARIZONA -- 3,389,000 -- 3,389,000
HUMANITARIAN -- ESPN -- MARYLAND/NEVADA -- 3,039,000 -- 3,586,020
EAGLEBANK -- ESPN -- WAKE FOREST/NAVY -- 2,875,000 -- N/A
GMAC -- ESPN -- BALL STATE/TULSA -- 2,831,000 -- -368,030
INTERNATIONAL -- ESPN2 -- BUFFALO/CONNECTICUT -- 2,670,000 -- 1,708,800
PAPAJOHNS.COM -- ESPN -- N.C. STATE/RUTGERS -- 2,372,000 -- 2,704,080
ARMED FORCES -- ESPN -- HOUSTON/AIR FORCE -- 2,050,000 -- 2,480,500
ST. PETERSBURG -- ESPN2 -- MEMPHIS/SOUTH FLORIDA -- 1,661,000 -- N/A
INDEPENDENCE -- ESPN -- NORTHERN ILLINOIS/LA TECH -- 1,207,000 -- 1,846,710
NEW ORLEANS -- ESPN -- SOUTHERN MISS/TROY -- 1,115,000 -- 1,650,200
INSIGHT -- NFLN -- KANSAS/MINNESOTA -- 731,000 -- 694,450
TEXAS -- NFLN -- WESTERN MICHIGAN/RICE -- 186,000 -- 305,040

 

[english_vol]

That has just as much to do with who is in the game though...just look at the jump in the Hawaii bowl when Notre Dame was there and when they weren't

 

[manfromtn]

That has just as much to do with who is in the game though...just look at the jump in the Hawaii bowl when Notre Dame was there and when they weren't

Great point. TN-VT will be a blowout audience over AU-Wis

 

[Orlando Vol]

Great point. TN-VT will be a blowout audience over AU-Wis

I completely agree...

I also think that a UGA vs. Virginia Tech/Clemson game would have DEMOLISHED the ratings for a UT vs. Northwestern matchup.

 

[adamyq]

I never thought to look at this. I will go wherever we play. I wonder if the quality of matchup is enough to sway the number of viewers such that it doesn't matter what bowl this matchup takes place in.

 

[Orlando Vol]

I never thought to look at this. I will go wherever we play. I wonder if the quality of matchup is enough to sway the number of viewers such that it doesn't matter what bowl this matchup takes place in.

The matchup is part of it, but I think the time/day has a ton to do with it...

How many of you that watched the Saints-Pats game Monday night would have watched it if it was on Sunday at 1PM?

There are A LOT of people at home on NYE... way more watching TV than there will be at 11AM EST/10AM CST on NYD.

 

[TN/LA]

x

 

[Orlando Vol]

plus, this is the only game on New Years Eve and it will be shown in every bar in the country (TV ratings don't measure the audience that sees a game away from their homes) so the chickfila bowl is actually a much larger audience than the ratings reflect. most people will only see the outback in highlight clips shown during the rose bowl halftime.

That's actually a good point... Now that I think of it, last year's game was on at both bars I was at on NYE.

 

[warrior]

Exactly.

 

[Vercingetorix]

I said this in another thread, but if you go back five or six years, the Peach/Chicken bowl on NYE has been higher-rated than both the Outback and Cotton bowls the next morning every year. The only exception was last year's Cotton bowl, which turned out to be a big upset. Primetime NYE is a better TV slot than 11 or noon the next morning.

 

[trevols81]

the biggest reason for the difference in ratings is the times of the two games.

the outback is played at 10 CST on new years day.... many people arent even awake at that time.

 

[Ooltewah Vol]

I hope you have the authorization to quote those ratings from Nielsen, and the knowledge
to define them. Bottom line, it’s about the teams not the bowl

 

[Orlando Vol]

I hope you have the authorization to quote those ratings from Nielsen, and the knowledge
to define them. Bottom line, it’s about the teams not the bowl

I sure don't... please don't report me... :dunno:

Here's the link... SPORTS WRAP: College Football Bowls Over Audiences | Nielsen Wire

To be fair, I calculated the previous year's numbers in Excel, and then reformatted it all, so that it would show up legibly here on a message board.

Is that okay with you?

 

[Ooltewah Vol]

The teams playing are what people tune in for, not the Bowl game. Trust me I have to live and die by those numbers, also all that number represents is an estimate and can have a very VERY high % of error. But again I state, Bottom line viewers watch the game they have the most interest in so the match ups are what makes the estimates, as with the numbers shown for Notre Dame Hawaii. Do you think the teams or the Bowl made that estimated audience explode by 425% over the past year without those teams? – (08-09)4,413,000 – (07-08) 838,470

 

[Orlando Vol]

Well, to be fair... Having the only team (Notre Dame) in college OR the NFL to have a dedicated network (NBC) time slot probably helped in that circumstance... don't you think?

There are fanbases from every school that will always watch their team, regardless of time/network...

Are you telling me that the reason that 5 times more people watch the Oakland Raiders play on Sunday Night Football on NBC vs. a Sunday 4PM CBS game, isn't because it's in a prime-time slot?

 

[Ooltewah Vol]

Well, to be fair... Having the only team (Notre Dame) in college OR the NFL to have a dedicated network (NBC) time slot probably helped in that circumstance... don't you think? NO ND has the largest fan base of any NCAA FB team

There are fanbases from every school that will always watch their team, regardless of time/network...Thus why the fan base will give higher ratings as I have already stated. It's the team and fan base not the bowl game.

Are you telling me that the reason that 5 times more people watch the Oakland Raiders play on Sunday Night Football on NBC vs. a Sunday 4PM CBS game, isn't because it's in a prime-time slot?

They have not played a Sunday night game so NO they did not have those ratings.

Two problems with your post. Oakland Hasn't played a Sunday night game this year so I would not know their ratings, and the NFL is a different world from NCAA football viewers on TV. To give you an answer there are some people who will watch the NFL or NCAA no matter who plays. Where the big nunbers come from is the fan base for a team and that market the team is from. You can not win this debate but if you enjoy ratings and can sell I will give you a shot at a job

 

[Capn Jack]

I called this before it happened. This is a better bowl for UT. Even people who have plans on NYE, the guys in tuxes try to find a TV to watch whatever game is on and this is it! And VT is a must better opponent (in terms of popularity) than Wisconsin.:rock: