Georgia-Tennessee thriller pulls in largest ABC audience in nearly 2 decades
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In years past, the classic “SEC on CBS” theme would have been ringing through the house and Brad Nessler would have welcomed us to the party in Knoxville. CBS is probably kicking itself right now. On Saturday, Nessler and his partner were in West Lafayette, Indiana, for a Big Ten conference game between USC and Purdue while ESPN’s Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit were in Knoxville for a top-15 showdown between Georgia and Tennessee.
ESPN won the deal.
The Week 3 overtime thriller between Georgia and Tennessee was a ratings powerhouse for ESPN and ABC. According to a press release from the network, the game averaged 12.6 million viewers and peaked at 15.9 million.
It was ABC’s fourth most-watched regular-season game over the last 10 years. It was also ABC’s best 3:30 p.m. ET game since 2006.
The noon ET game between Wisconsin and Alabama drew 4.5 million viewers. The nightcap between LSU and Florida in Death Valley drew 7.6 million viewers — almost equaling the number of interceptions DJ Lagway threw.
ESPN’s network had 5 of the 6 most-watched Week 3 games. The Worldwide Leader says it is off to the best 3-week start to a season since 2009, averaging 3.1 million viewers.
ABC is also off to its best 3-week start ever, averaging 7.8 million viewers.
The exclusive deal between ESPN and the SEC that flooded the league’s coffers with cash and pulled the top games away from CBS has proven to be a winning move for both sides.
In Week 1, ABC had the mid-day stunner between Florida State and Alabama. ABC wrapped the opening weekend with LSU’s 17-10 takedown of Clemson on the road. It also had the Miami-Notre Dame game the following Sunday.
In Week 2, ABC broadcast the Ole Miss–Kentucky game in the mid-day slot and had the rights to the Oklahoma-Michigan game in the evening. Even after missing out on the Week 1 headliner (Texas-Ohio State was on FOX), ABC is still on a record-setting run to open the year.
Week 4 features a top-25 battle between Oklahoma and Auburn in the 3:30 p.m. ET slot on ABC. Florida faces Miami in the 7:30 p.m. ET slot.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
