Versus Crows About Oregon-Cal Ratings

It was one of Versus’ biggest matchups since obtaining the secondary rights to Pac 10 football games from Fox Sports Net and as a result, the network saw its biggest college football ratings ever. Oregon-Cal brought in an average of just under two million viewers and very good ratings in their respective local markets.

Perhaps the marriage of NBC Sports and Comcast will lead Versus to bid for the Pac 10 rights. We’ll see down the road, but before we jump ahead, here’s the Versus press release.

SATURDAY’S #1 OREGON/CAL GAME ON VERSUS WAS MOST-WATCHED COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME IN NETWORK HISTORY
NEW YORK, N.Y. (November 16, 2010)— VERSUS averaged more than 1.9 million viewers for the November 13 telecast of top-ranked Oregon’s win over Cal (15-13), making it the most-watched college football game ever on the network and surpassing the previous college football high set by Oregon/Oregon State on November 29, 2008 (1.6 million viewers).
The telecast, which garnered a 1.7 HH rating, peaked at a 2.7 HH rating and more than three million viewers from 10:30 p.m.-10:45 p.m. ET. The game was also VERSUS’ most-watched college football game among all the key male demos.   
VERSUS.com also experienced its most trafficked day ever on November 13 for college football, leading to remarkable growth with unique visits and page views up triple digits compared to the month’s average.
The network fared extremely well in the team’s local markets as well. Portland received a 13.3 HH rating and the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose market delivered a 4.2 HH rating, making VERSUS the #1 rated network overall in both markets during the time period. 

And that is it.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013. He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television. Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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