BCS Championship Nabs Cable's Second-Biggest Audience Ever

Game draws 26.4 million viewers despite early blowout; up 9% over last year's game

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/8/2013 4:25:00 PM

Monday night's BCS National Championship Game between Notre Dame and Alabama averaged 26.4 million total viewers, the second-biggest audience in cable history.

Despite the fact that Alabama raced out to a commanding 28-0 lead by halftime (the final score was 42-14), the only program to draw a bigger cable audience was the 2011 BCS Championship, which averaged 27.3 million viewers. The 15.1 HH rating was also the second-highest in cable history.

Monday's telecast was also up 9% year-over-year and bumped last year's telecast -- which also featured Alabama -- down to cable's third-highest audience (24.2 million).

During the season, the two most-watched games featured Alabama and Notre Dame: 16.2 million tuned in to see the SEC title game between Alabama and Georgia on CBS, while Notre Dame's clash with USC drew 16.1 million total viewers on ABC. In fact, eight of the 15 most-watched games featured one of the schools.

ESPN's coverage of the five BCS bowl games averaged 15.1 million total viewers, up 7% from last year.