ESPN’s BCS Championship Telecast Scores 25.5 Million Viewers

ESPN’s coverage of the thrilling Florida State-Auburn BCS Championship game drew 25.5 million viewers, slightly down from last year’s BCS college football championship game, according to network officials.

The VIZIO BCS National Championship game, in which Florida State defeated Auburn 34-31 on a dramatic, late fourth-quarter touchdown, still ranks as the third most-watched cable telecast of all time, behind the 26.3 million viewers who tuned in to last year’s Alabama-Notre Dame BCS game and the cable record 27 million watchers who viewed the 2011 Auburn-Oregon State BCS Championship tilt, according to Nielsen.

Overall, ESPN’s “BCS Megacast” drew 26 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNEWS. In addition, WatchESPN generated 553,000 unique viewers online, a 53% increase over last year’s live stream of the BCS Championship game.

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R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.