BCS National Championship Game Overnights Down Considerably From Last Year

We’re getting the overnight ratings from Monday night’s BCS National Championship Game which was a dud aesthetically and compared to last year’s ratings, not as popular. However, it appears that Alabama-LSU which turned out to be a 21-0 romp for the Crimson Tide will still be the fourth most watched event in the history of the network. The fact that LSU was really never in the game and also the two teams had played before didn’t lead to fans running to their TV sets to watch.

From Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor of Sports Business Daily, he tweets that Alabama-LSU received a 13.8 overnight rating, down from last year’s Auburn-Oregon contest.

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ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz points out that the home markets of Birmingham, AL and New Orleans were the top two rated in the entire country. The ratings are rather stunning.

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In addition, ESPN PR man extraordinaire Mike Soltys says traditional college football hotbeds were the top non-game markets, but the lowest rated markets were in the Northeast.

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Paulsen at Sports Media Watch points out the 13.8 overnight rating for the BCS National Championship Game is the lowest in its history. And he points out the three lowest-rated games have all come when there has been controversy over the teams playing in the contest such as was the case with LSU and Alabama, two teams coming from the same conference and had previously played in the regular season.

More posts are coming as they warrant.

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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