Rose Bowl a Winner in Television Ratings Again

For the second year in a row, the Jan. 2 national championship game did not do as well in the television ratings as the tradition-rich Rose Bowl.

The national Nielsen rating for Florida’s 52-20 victory over Florida State in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night on ABC was a 17.9 with a 29% share of the audience.

Because Wednesday’s Rose Bowl game on ABC was not shown in prime time, the national rating will not be available until next week, but the overnight average in the nation’s 35 largest markets was an 18.3 with a 31 share. The overnight rating for the Sugar Bowl was a 17.1 with a 26.

Last year, the Fiesta Bowl game between No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Florida drew an 18.8 national rating with a 31 share. The Rose Bowl, with USC and Northwestern, drew a 19.2 with a 33 share.

This year’s Sugar Bowl rating represents a 5% drop from last year’s Fiesta Bowl, and this year’s Rose Bowl overnight rating represents a 6% drop from the 19.4, 32 overnight numbers of a year ago.

The overnight ratings for the other New Year’s Day bowls televised by over-the-air networks were: Fiesta Bowl, CBS, 9.6 with a 15% share of the audience; Florida Citrus, ABC, 8.3 with a 16; Cotton Bowl, CBS, 6.3 with a 12; and Gator Bowl, NBC, 4.8 with a 9.

The L.A. ratings: Rose Bowl, 27.4 with a 49 share; Sugar, 17.0 with a 26; Florida Citrus, 7.9 with a 15, Fiesta, 7.7 with a 13; Cotton, 5.4 with a 10, and Gator, 4.5 with an 8.