Army-Navy Scores Best Rating In 23 Years, While Heisman Ceremony Hits New Low

CBS on Saturday afternoon drew the best overnight rating for the Army-Navy football game in 23 years. Army's 14-13 win over Navy in the closing seconds drew a 5.9 overnight, which is the best for the annual matchup since ABC drew a 6.5 in '94. The 5.9 overnight also is up 5% from a 5.6 last year. The game has seen ratings rise for five straight years now. The move to have the game on the Saturday after conference championship weekend also continues to be a boon for ratings. Since that move in '09, the lowest rating for the game has been a 3.5 overnight ('10). From '00-08, when the game aired on conference championship weekend, only two games drew a 3.5 or above. The top market on Saturday for the game was host site Philadelphia with an 11.3 local rating. Rounding out the top five were Columbus (11.0), Jacksonville (10.9), Norfolk (10.6) and Baltimore (10.4). Meanwhile, the Heisman Trophy presentation on Saturday night drew a 1.5 overnight rating on ESPN, as the heavy favorite, Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield, took home the trophy. That figure marks the second straight year that ESPN has seen a record low for the Heisman telecast. The 1.5 this year is down 12% from a 1.7 last year for Louisville QB Lamar Jackson's win, and down 25% from a 2.0 rating in '15 and '14, when Alabama RB Derrick Henry and Oregon QB Marcus Mariota won, respectively (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).

SENSITIVE TOPIC: THE ATHLETIC's John Walters noted on the eve of Army-Navy, The Daily Beast ran a piece in which former cadet Madeline Lewis "alleged that in her plebe year" of '14, Army QB Ahmad Bradshaw "raped her." The story, "strategically timed, put both ESPN, which aired 'College GameDay' from Philadelphia, and CBS, which aired the contest, in an awkward situation." Army-Navy is a "star-spangled tribute to the service academies, and here was the game’s most outstanding player ... being accused of sexual assault." ESPN's Rece Davis gets credit for "at least citing the story and, during the crew’s on-set interview with Army coach Jeff Monken, asking him to comment." Meanwhile, CBS "never touched the story." CBS’ intro for the game, featuring "properly proud parents of players from both service academies, was sensational." It was both "uplifting and humorous." Props to the team who "produced it and props to play-by-play man Brad Nessler who, at the start of the fourth quarter, mentioned the staffer in charge of its production by name" (THEATHLETIC.com, 12/10).