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- ABC and ESPN Air Two Highest-Rated College Football Games in Primetime; Sixth Straight Saturday ABC/ESPN Televise the Sport’s Highest-Rated Primetime Game Across All Networks
- ESPN Grows Ratings in Multiple Key Game Windows
- Detroit and Columbus Were Highest-Rated Local Markets for Michigan-Wisconsin
ABC’s Saturday Night Football featuring Wisconsin at Michigan (7:30 p.m. ET) delivered a 3.6 overnight rating, leading the way for ABC/ESPN in week 7 and generating a 57% year-over-year rating increase for the sport’s signature franchise. Across all networks, ESPN/ABC combined to air three of the four highest-rated college football games of the week, including the two highest-rated primetime games. Overall, this marks the sixth straight Saturday that the highest-rated primetime game aired on either ESPN/ABC.
Missouri-Alabama Delivers Rating Increase for ESPN, Ties as Network’s Highest-Rated Crimson Tide Game of ‘18
ESPN also delivered significant ratings in primetime as Missouri-Alabama (7 p.m.) delivered a 2.2 overnight, besting the network’s cable competition by 266%. Year-over-year, ESPN grew its own ratings by 5%, as last season, the same game window also featured Alabama, with the Crimson Tide taking on Arkansas. This season, the overnight for the Crimson Tide victory ties as ESPN’s highest-rated Alabama game of the year, equaling the Ole Miss game (Sept. 15) and besting two other games on ESPN/ESPN2 – vs. Arkansas State (Sept. 8) and at Arkansas (Oct. 6).
Detroit Market Leads the Way for ABC’s Saturday Night Football; Columbus was Second Highest Rated
Detroit was the highest-rated local market for ABC’s Saturday Night Football, with an 18.1 rating followed by Columbus (15.9) and Milwaukee (13.7). The complete top 10:
| Rank | Local Rating | Market |
| 1 | 18.1 | Detroit |
| 2 | 15.9 | Columbus |
| 3 | 13.7 | Milwaukee |
| 4 | 9.0 | Dayton |
| 5 | 7.8 | Cleveland |
| 6 | 6.2 | Cincinnati |
| 7 | 5.6 | Minneapolis |
| 5.6 | Portland | |
| 9 | 5.1 | Memphis |
| 10 | 4.6 | Oklahoma City |
ESPN Grows Ratings in Multiple Game Windows in Week 7; Florida-Vanderbilt Ties as Highest-Rated Noon Game Window
ESPN’s telecast of Florida and Vanderbilt (noon) delivered a 1.8 overnight, with the Gators’ come-from-behind victory generating a 6% ratings increase from last year’s same game window which also featured an SEC East clash (South Carolina at Tennessee). The overnight tied as the highest-rated college football game on any network in that time slot in week 7.
Regional Action in Late Afternoon Propels ABC/ESPN2
Regional action was featured across ABC/ESPN2 in the late afternoon window, with the entire country seeing Washington at Oregon and UCF at Memphis (3:30 p.m.). The game window, across both networks, delivered a 2.4 overnight, the sport’s second best in that timeslot and third highest of the entire week, across all networks and timeslots.
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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; [email protected] and @DerekVolner
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