Cam-era Ready: CBS Ties Season-High Rating With Georgia-Auburn

CBS Earns 5.4 Overnight Rating For Georgia-Auburn Telecast

CBS earned a 5.4 overnight Nielsen rating for Saturday's Georgia-Auburn college football game, tying the net's Sept. 25 broadcast of Alabama-Arkansas and ABC's Oct. 30 regional broadcast of Oregon-USC and Ohio State-Minnesota as the highest-rated college football telecast on a broadcast net this season. The overnight for Georgia-Auburn was up 15% from a 4.7 for last year's comparable Florida-South Carolina game (CBS). USA TODAY's Michael Hiestand notes only ESPN's Sept. 6 telecast of Boise State-Virginia Tech had a higher overnight this season. Meanwhile, CBS announcers Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson during the game "largely avoided opining on accusations against" Auburn QB Cam Newton "that include academic cheating and having sought money while being recruited out of junior college" (USA TODAY, 11/15). Auburn leading up to the game would not say whether Newton would play due to the investigation surrounding him, and in Alabama, Charles Goldberg wrote before the game, "We're guessing CBS ratings will be through the roof as people check Newton's status" (AL.com, 11/13).

NEW SEC IPAD APP: The SEC and XOS Digital have released a new iPad application for the '10-11 athletic seasons containing exclusive video, live statistics and standings, polls, photo galleries and other content. The tablet effort further extends the SEC Digital Network, created last year by the two entities to represent a new revenue stream and means of outreach for the conference and member schools. Game highlights will be available through the application shortly after games conclude. The application, carrying an introductory price of $6.99, additionally holds a presenting sponsorship from CDW LLC (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).