Irish Eyes Are Not Watching: NBC Sees Notre Dame Ratings Fall

NBC Averaging 2.1 Nielsen Rating For Notre Dame Games

With Notre Dame football's 2.1 average Nielsen rating on NBC (before Saturday's game against USC) marking the lowest average during the school’s 17-year relationship with the net, one reason  might be start times, according to Eric Hansen of the SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE.  In the first years of the partnership, Notre Dame broadcasts began before  2:00pm ET, but now "none of the home games do.”  While part of that is due to Indiana adopting Daylight Savings Time, another part is NBC’s “desire to bundle other sports programming with Notre Dame football,” as well as attracting more West Coast fans. Notre Dame AD Kevin White said of NBC, “There has been an attempt on our part to accommodate some of their interests as long as they don’t run against the grain of our (philosophical) position.” Hansen noted there will be “no night games on the ND campus unless Notre Dame wants them.” NBC Sports President Ken Schanzer said, “There are times we would love to play games in prime time. ... We respect [the school’s decision], and we’ll respect that as long as we’re in the partnership.” However, when Notre Dame's off-site home games begin in '09 against Washington State in San Antonio, they will likely be broadcast in prime time (SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE, 10/20).