Week 8 Kansas-TCU game sets (low) college football ratings record
TCU’s blowout of Kansas on Oct. 21 on Fox wasn’t watched by very many people.
According to Sports Media Watch, the game was the lowest-rated college football game televised on a network in primetime. It drew 1.2 million viewers and beat out a Baylor-Iowa State game in 2015 on Fox for the record for fewest viewers.
It’s no surprise the 43-0 Horned Frogs win wasn’t a draw for viewers. And Fox likely preferred it that way.
The decision to put Kansas and TCU in primetime makes a bunch of sense when you consider Saturday night’s sports landscape. Not only did ABC (Michigan-Penn State) and NBC (USC-Notre Dame) have massive college football draws in primetime, Fox was televising Game 7 of the American League Championship Series on Fox Sports 1.
Whatever game Fox picked for primetime was likely going to finish third behind the other two networks. And given the baseball aspect, it would incredibly absurd for Fox to compete against itself by putting a tantalizing game against a pivotal ALCS game. That’s why Oklahoma’s game at Kansas State kicked off in the afternoon.
That game drew 3.0 million viewers, according to SMW.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
