Alabama Again Draws CBS' Top CFB Audience, But Tide Games Down Sharply From '13

CBS wrapped up its allotted regular-season Alabama appearances last Saturday, drawing 10.27 million viewers for the school’s 3:30pm ET matchup against then-No. 1 ranked Mississippi State. That audience easily marked CBS’ best college football audience this season to date, beating out the Nov. 8 Alabama-LSU primetime matchup, which drew 9.11 million viewers. Alabama appeared in CBS’ top three CFB audiences to date this season, and the net may have another crack at the Crimson Tide with the SEC Championship game on Dec. 6. The net averaged 7.59 million viewers for its five Alabama broadcasts this season. That is down sharply from 11.02 million viewers for four games last year, but the ’13 matchups included a highly publicized rematch against Texas A&M and QB Johnny Manziel, as well as the annual Iron Bowl against Auburn. This year’s Alabama-Texas A&M telecast, a 59-0 blowout, saw a 69% viewership decline compared to ’13 (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).

THANKS FOR NOTHING: SI’s Andy Staples wrote this weekend’s college football schedule “stinks,” as many top teams are “either taking byes or scheduling byes ... ahead of rivalry games next weekend.” That includes Alabama playing Western Carolina and Georgia hosting Charleston Southern. ESPN VP/Programming & Acquisitions Ilan Ben-Hanan is “one person who would like to see great games on television as much (or more) than the rest of us,” as it is his job to “make sure his network always has quality games to air.” He believes the sport “might see better games in coming years” due to the College Football Playoff. Due to a “stated emphasis on strength of schedule,” Ben-Hanan is “hearing more from schools that want to schedule better games.” Staples suggested a “BracketBusters for college football,” in which teams would “tell ESPN or Fox or CBS they are willing to hold the Saturday (or Thursday) before Thanksgiving in a certain year open to play a neutral-site game against a similar team.” Networks likely would be “thrilled to throw money at schools for this” (SI.com, 11/20).