"The Game" TV ratings
The Game television ratings were released late yesterday and it shows why The Game is still "The Game".
The Game ratings drew a 5.3 share. A share is what percentage of all households were watching The Game. This year's game is up about 10% compared to last year but not as high as the 2007 game (6.4).
LSU/Ark drew a 6.1 share. This is not surprising that this game beat us because it was on Friday and did not have any competition. It is also a 1 vs 3 game. Ala/Aub drew a 4.3. ND/Stanford at a 4.1 share. Va/Vt drew a 3.2 share, Iowa/Neb drew a 2.2 share. So had either M or ohio been ranked higher, the ratings would have been significantly higher.
Our rating of 5.3 translates to about 6 million viewers. This shows that Michigan is truely "America's Team".
http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2011/11/ncaa-week-13-ohio-statemichigan…
November 30th, 2011 at 12:43 PM ^
FYI, the LSU/Alabama game got about a 6.4 (if I'm reading this correctly):
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/11/06/tv-ratings-saturday-lsu-ala…
November 30th, 2011 at 1:01 PM ^
You are not. (Hi, from an editor on TVBTN!)
The rating reported in that article for LSU/Alabama is the A18-49 demo. That means the percentage of all A18-49 in the US who were watching. 6.4+ (I don't recall what the final number was, but it almost certainly went up, because sporting events do after timezone adjustments) A18-49 rating is HUGE for any TV program, not just college football. Other than NFL, nothing comes close to that currently. American Idol will probably hit it a few times, and maybe The Voice, maybe, but nothing else.
The 5.3 for The Game is household rating, which means the percentage of all US households that were watching. Again, this is not a final number, and will likely be adjusted up in the finals, but this doesn't come anywhere close to LSU/Alabama. (This doesn't take away at all from the fact that The Game really did do well, compared to other college football and compared to recent ratings for The Game.)
And I actually found the finals for LSU/Alabama: http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/11/08/tv-ratings-broadcast-top-25-ravens-steelers-lsu-alabama-modern-family-top-week-7-among-adults-18-49/109881/
The first chart shows the final A18-49 was 7.2! And the second chart shows that the HH rating was 11.5. HUGE!
Edit: Actually, thinking about it again, the 5.3 will likely be adjusted down. This is an overnight household rating, and those are usually adjusted down. I believe the 4.8 from Michigan/ND ended up being around a 4.5 or 4.6 HH rating, but I don't recall exactly.
November 30th, 2011 at 12:33 PM ^
I know how people hate to mess with tradition, but i'd love to see a trophy with a bust of Woody facing a bust of Bo...about 60 lbs, looking very very old school..just wood and bronze...would be a lot of fun to win every year
November 30th, 2011 at 12:43 PM ^
Just a couple of nitpicks from someone who studied TV ratings in college:
The numbers reported are ratings, not shares. Shares would be the percentage of all households watching TV at the time who were watching the game.
Also, trying to translate household ratings to total viewers is really not possible. A 5.3 household rating equals a bit more than 6 million households, but, especially with a sporting event like this, most households have more than one person watching. Total viewers (along with demo ratings, which is where the ad dollars come in) will be reported later when final numbers are in. This article is reporting overnight ratings which are very preliminary, especially for live events, since they are not timezone adjusted.
Sorry for essay, and we can still look at these numbers and know that The Game did well compared to recent years. But drawing much more than that is hard to do.
November 30th, 2011 at 1:14 PM ^
I don't know how they compile ratings but I leave the Michigan games on during commercials and halftime so that the school can get full credit for my television set being glued.
November 30th, 2011 at 1:31 PM ^
If you aren't a Nielsen family, it doesn't matter. :)
November 30th, 2011 at 1:46 PM ^
But do they even tell you that you are a Nielsen family or not?
November 30th, 2011 at 2:02 PM ^
yea, you get a special box to connect your tv to.
November 30th, 2011 at 3:05 PM ^
Michigan Grad?
November 30th, 2011 at 1:24 PM ^
Top 3 rated regular-season CFB games:
1. 1989 ND v. Miami (overnight rating: 14.5)
2. 2006 Michigan v. OSU (overnight rating: 13.7)
3. 2011 LSU v. Bama (overnight rating: 11.9)
http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2011/11/lsualabama-earns-best-non-bowl-…
November 30th, 2011 at 2:03 PM ^
Michigan is America's team.
Ohio is the asshole of America.
So every time you drop a duece think of tsio
November 30th, 2011 at 2:10 PM ^
Don't know how to embed videos but this guy takes that to a new extreme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dFuR56RxlGc
November 30th, 2011 at 6:08 PM ^
- Click "share" and "embed" on YouTube.
- Copy embed code.
- Switch MGoBlog to plain text editor.
- Paste embed code.
- Switch MGoBlog to rich text editor.
- Look for a box saying "iframe".
- ?
- Profit.
November 30th, 2011 at 3:01 PM ^
At least we have Gus Johnson doing the Big Ten Championship game, along with Charles Davis, Tim Brewster and Dhani Jones. That's a Michigan player and a big time Michigan fan in the booth for a MSU vs. Wisconsin Championship game. I'll be listening for a little more excitement from Gus when Monte Ball breaks a huge run or Wilson breaks a huge scramble.
November 30th, 2011 at 3:25 PM ^
Its The Game.
November 30th, 2011 at 3:41 PM ^
End the debate on whether Michigan - Ohio State or Alabama-Auburn are a bigger rivalry nationally.
November 30th, 2011 at 5:54 PM ^
Vs. Primtime for ND and Stanford.