Miami Hurricanes vs. Florida State Seminoles a Ratings Hit for ESPN

by srr50 on Sep 11, 2009 10:09 AM CDT in Texas Longhorns and Other Football

It may have been a lousy weekend for the ACC, but the Labor Day matchup between Miami and Florida State was a ratings winner for hte league and ESPN.

While the ACC went 4-6 in non-conference play, Miami edged the Seminoles 38-34 as 8.4 million viewers watched.

That made the contest the second-most watched regular season college football game in the 30 years of ESPN. The most watched college football game on the WWL was the 2006 match up between the same two teams that Florida State won 13-10.

Miami has played in four of the five highest rated football games show on ESPN

To put it into perspective, the Alabama win over Virginia Tech on ABC Saturday night drew about 7.1 million viewers. That is an improvement over the past couple of years, as ABC and ESPN enjoyed ratings boosts across the board from last year's opening week.

ABC regional coverage on Saturday afternoon featured Oklahoma State's win over Georgia, and it pulled a 3.5 rating for 5.7 million viewers. That game hammered the Notre Dame-Navy contest on NBC which only drew a little over 2 million viewers.

For the opening week, ESPN averaged a 2.3 rating and 3.6 million viewers for its college football coverage, up 28% and 34%, respectively, from a 1.8 and 2.7 million last year.

With USC at Ohio State in primetime Saturday, the WWL can expect another good week, while NBC can only watch as ABC will pull a very good number for Notre Dame's visit to the Big House to play Michigan.

Tweet Comment 10 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

How does that compare to what ESPN gets for NFL Monday Night Football? I assume it’s not even close, but what do I know?

by Phenomenal Smith on Sep 11, 2009 10:21 AM CDT reply actions

Monday Night Football is the highest rated weekly “series” on cable tv. Last year ESPN averaged just under 12 million viewers a week for MNF.

by srr50 on Sep 11, 2009 10:56 AM CDT reply actions

It was a great game. Miami’s QB had a funny throwing motion but he made a bunch of very accurate throws.

by kafka on Sep 11, 2009 11:48 AM CDT reply actions

Miami’s secondary employs a deep group of females that understand slap fighting better than tackling. A tough team with a good QB will eat them alive. I like them, but that is a huge weakness. Loved the game and thanks for the article on it.

by CloseToJumping on Sep 11, 2009 12:10 PM CDT reply actions

Thanks srr50 – good stuff.

I was thinking along the lines of Phenomenal as well. The NFL’s grip on our national sports mind is just incredible.

by Scipio Tex on Sep 11, 2009 1:28 PM CDT reply actions

The incredible part is that the average NFL game is less gripping than Life Goes On reruns. Oh, Corky.

by Gene Claude on Sep 11, 2009 2:12 PM CDT reply actions

I agree Gene, last night’s game was like watching paint dry except for the last two minutes of the first half, the last five minutes of the second half, and OT.

On the WWL, the GT v. Clemson game started off with a rocket, and then a building crescendo as Clemson clawed their way back in only to lose in the end. More exciting, for sure, but the NFL gets a much bigger share due to better athletes, better coaches, and fantasy football.

by uthookem on Sep 11, 2009 2:35 PM CDT reply actions

College football is all about variety, competing philosophies, deep seated rivarly.

The NFL is an antiseptic game of retreads and frightened middle managers. I still watch and enjoy it, but it will never compare.

by Scipio Tex on Sep 11, 2009 3:34 PM CDT reply actions

There is a movie opening today, called “Big Fan.” Made by the guy who wrote “The Wrestler.” He says is is a “tale of unrequited love,” which looks at the life of a 36-year old obsessed fan of the N.Y. Giants.

Sound like it will pretty well explain the popularity of the NFL.

by srr50 on Sep 11, 2009 3:40 PM CDT reply actions

“The NFL is an antiseptic game of retreads and frightened middle managers.”

this nails it…
I haven’t really watched pro football much for the last few years. Started mainly as just a schedule thing, but I found I just plain didn’t miss it. Year before last, I did not watch a single NFL game from start to finish, which only a very few years earlier would have been absolutely unthinkable.

Got roped into a fantasy football league last year for the first time ever, and I ended up watching more, just to see my players. Probably will do more of that this year, since I’m in a couple of leagues. I watched most of the game last night, and pretty much in horror. It was far, far, far less compelling than just about every college game from last weekend, including the blowouts, and these were not scrub teams. I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like to sit through a Bengals-Browns matchup.

Makes you wonder just how much of the NFL’s popularity stems from fantasy football, as uthookem mentioned, and from gambling.

by The Bobs on Sep 11, 2009 7:27 PM CDT reply actions