Ratings: Rose Bowl Flirts With 27 Mil in Double OT, No. 5 Cable Audience Ever
Monday night’s ESPN/ESPN2 simulcast of what turned out to be a double-overtime, 54-48 victory for the Georgia Bulldogs over the Oklahoma Sooners drew 26.83 million total viewers, up 39 percent from last season’s first CFP Semifinal on the same two networks.
Versus the record-breaking inaugural CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl (which drew 28.2 mil on Jan. 1, 2015), the Bulldogs/Sooners thriller was off just 5 percent.
Trailing also the Oregon/Ohio State National Championship in 2015 (33.4 mil), the 2015 Sugar Bowl (28.3 mil) and the 2011 BCS National Championship (27.3 mil), this year’s Rose Bowl audience marks the fifth most-watched cable telecast of all time.
ESPN and ESPN2’s simulcast of the Sugar Bowl on Monday night averaged 21.1 million total viewers, up 10 percent from last season’s second CFP Semifinal on the two networks.
