TV ratings: Henry’s Heisman ceremony falls well short of Manziel, Ingram
By Nick Cole
Published:
On Saturday night, Alabama RB Derrick Henry became the first SEC Heisman Trophy winner since 2012.
So why wasn’t anyone watching?
That’s the question many are trying to answer.
Here are the overnight numbers for the last seven Heisman Trophy winners, courtesy of this chart produced by SportsMediaWatch.com:
Even though this year’s vote was expected to be a fairly tight race with Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey, the ESPN telecast simply wasn’t able to match numbers enjoyed during recent seasons.
For reference, there were nearly twice as many viewers for fellow Crimson Tide RB Mark Ingram’s win back in 2009.
Fox Sports college football writer Stewart Mandel has a theory:
No coincidence Heisman audience has plummeted since the ban on voters disclosing ballots. Zero coverage during the week leading up to it.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) December 15, 2015
Though viewership for Henry’s award was down from the last three SEC Heisman winners, it was on par with the audience that tuned in to see Oregon QB Marcus Mariota hoist the trophy in 2014.
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
