ESPN drew a 2.0 overnight rating for the Heisman Trophy presentation on Saturday night, which saw Oregon QB Marcus Mariota win by a wide margin. That figure is down 26% from a 2.7 overnight last year, when Florida State QB Jameis Winston also won by a large margin. The telecast in ’12 drew a 3.1 overnight when Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel beat out Notre Dame LB Manti Te'o to become the first freshman to win the award. Meanwhile, ESPN drew a 1.3 overnight for “The U Part 2” documentary following the Heisman telecast. The most recent “30 for 30” film was down 13% from a 1.5 rating for “Youngstown Boys” following last year’s Heisman presentation. “You Don’t Know Bo,” which remains ESPN’s highest-rated documentary, drew a 2.3 overnight following the ’12 ceremony (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
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HEISMAN TROPHY CEREMONY OVERNIGHT RATING TREND ON ESPN
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YEAR
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WINNER
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OVERNIGHT
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'14
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Marcus Mariota
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2.0
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'13
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Jameis Winston
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2.7
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'12
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Johnny Manziel
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3.1
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'11
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Robert Griffin III
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2.9
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'10
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Cam Newton
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2.4
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'09
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Mark Ingram
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3.6
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EXPANDED COVERAGE: USA TODAY's Daniel Uthman reported ESPN's Tim Tebow "will make his in-booth debut as a college football game analyst at the Dec. 31 Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl." ESPN Senior VP/College Networks Production Stephanie Druley said that Tebow will "provide commentary with play-by-play man Joe Tessitore, fellow analyst Brock Huard and field reporter Shannon Spake." Uthman noted it will be Tebow's "first full game in the booth after doing brief guest commentary on Florida's 36-30 overtime win vs. Kentucky on Sept. 13." Druley said that the booth assignment "will not affect Tebow's work" with SEC Network or "SEC Nation" (
USATODAY.com, 12/12). SI.com's Richard Deitsch wrote, "As a broadcaster, Tebow was a pleasant surprise. A vanilla interview as a player (though exceedingly polite), Tebow’s energy and enthusiasm worked on television, and he was exceptionally prepared on the rosters of the SEC" (
SI.com, 12/12).
A MUS-WIN: In L.A., Chris Erskine wrote, "Here's a note to the geniuses who run ESPN: Put Brent Musburger back on your A team. Or at least the B team." College fans "deserve better than the vanilla-pudding pairing of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit." Musburger has been "barely visible on second-tier" SEC games. Erskine: "He brings moxie and a sense of history to telecasts" (L.A. TIMES, 12/14).
