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TV ratings appear to be down massively

Posted on 11/12/25 at 11:51 am
Posted by AUTiger789
Birmingham, AL
Member since Apr 2022
3495 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 11:51 am
Thanks to ABC/Disney greed.

ESPN’s PR account on X has still not tweeted out the ratings which tells me they are bad without YouTube.

A guy in the SEC office tweeted that Bama-LSU scored only 7.5 million viewers- LINK

If that’s true, that’s a very bad number. Since 2013, if you take out the Covid year, that game has averaged 10.5 million when aired on network tv. This would be the second lowest rated Bama-LSU game on ABC or CBS since 2013.

ABC Saturday prime time games involving an SEC team were averaging 8.3 million so far this season until the ABC/Youtube feud began. For a game that is usually a Top 5 viewership game in all of CFB most seasons to draw below that average is a disaster.

Meanwhile, the Texas vs Missouri game at 4.9 million would mark the 2nd lowest rated game in the ABC afternoon slot this season… ahead of only Ole Miss vs Kentucky. Prior to the YouTube dispute, the afternoon game was averaging 8.2 million viewers each week. Just 4.9 for Texas vs Mizzou is abysmal.

ABC better concede soon or this season’s ratings will quickly go down the drain. They were off to a great start to the season but these ratings are bad.
Posted by theballguy
Bama Park
Member since Oct 2011
27476 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 11:54 am to
Has to do with product vs network.

CFB was its own special thing at one point (competing somewhat with the NFL).

Now it's going back to being a minor league sport.

More and more people are beginning to slowly realize this (especially those of us who are traditionally SEC fans).

We're heading back to the 90's and further back thanks to the way things have changed (unlimited agency by players).
This post was edited on 11/12/25 at 11:56 am
Posted by GeauxBurrow312
Member since Nov 2024
4670 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 11:55 am to
Meanwhile Fox had their best afternoon slot of the year ratings wise

Disney is fricking stupid
Posted by Ourichie
Member since Dec 2017
49 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 11:56 am to
Viewership traditionally drops as you get later into the season as teams get eliminated from CFP contention. This is nothing new
Posted by blackinthesaddle
Alabama
Member since Jan 2013
1792 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 11:56 am to
quote:

they are bad


1000 commercials per game and 1000 yellow flags thrown per game.
Posted by JustGetItRight
Member since Jan 2012
16091 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 11:56 am to
The fact that viewers aren't flocking to other legal providers is good news. It's about time providers told Disney they won't keep surrendering and driving up costs to the viewers just because the mouse wants more. Google is about the only one big enough to do so, but if they win it'll set a precedent for the rest when the Disney shakedown hits them.

Posted by AllbyMyRelf
Virginia
Member since Nov 2014
3982 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 11:56 am to
Yeah, I used to be a rabid fan. I honestly just don’t care much anymore.

I’m sure there are lots of contributing reasons for me—young kids, team isn’t very competitive, I moved out of state, etc., but the professionalization is a big part too.
Posted by paperwasp
2x HRV 2025 Poster of the Year
Member since Sep 2014
28685 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 11:57 am to
quote:

TV ratings appear to be down massively due to the YouTube dispute

Posted by tBrand
Member since Oct 2022
2482 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 12:00 pm to
tbf it was probably the worst SEC slate of the season
Posted by Nasty_Canasta
Your Mom’s house
Member since Dec 2024
3299 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 12:01 pm to
quote:

AUTiger789


Unless you work for the networks, who gives a shite? LSU and Mizzou have nothing to play for now
Posted by paperwasp
2x HRV 2025 Poster of the Year
Member since Sep 2014
28685 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 12:02 pm to
quote:

LSU and Mizzou have nothing to play for now

Posted by theballguy
Bama Park
Member since Oct 2011
27476 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 12:03 pm to
quote:

but the professionalization is a big part too.


This is the main thing for me.

Even if my team isn't playing well or not involved in playoffs, it's at least fun to watch and cheer the front runners on and don't get me wrong, the competition is great but but there's so little difference between a team in the top 5 vs ranked in 20-25 as far as outstanding play goes.

It's kind of meh right now unless my team is playing.

I'm having a very hard time watching other games right now.

It's just not nearly as interesting as it was even 5 years ago.
Posted by Radio One
On the banks of the Wabash
Member since Sep 2023
5598 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 12:06 pm to
quote:

Unless you work for the networks, who gives a shite?

We gotta pump those numbers up. G-d knows there isn’t enough money in big time college sports.
Posted by secuniversity
Member since May 2015
5807 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 12:06 pm to
ABC/SEC has been lapping all other football packages this year and it hasn't been particularly close.

You're reading too much into an Alabama-LSU game that had an interim coach on the sidelines for the first time. This was never gonna be an intriguing game and it still finished #1.
Posted by thatthang
Member since Jan 2012
7823 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 12:13 pm to
quote:

Thanks to ABC/Disney greed.


Why do so many low IQ people distill that issue to this overly simplistic mantra? Why do they think a company with a $3.5 trillion market cap (Google) should dictate what a $200 billion company (Disney) can charge for its own product? This is the mindset of simpletons whose emotions outpace their reasoning, because muh DisNEy is EviL but I LoVe mah GooGles.
Posted by paperwasp
2x HRV 2025 Poster of the Year
Member since Sep 2014
28685 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 12:16 pm to
quote:

there's so little difference between a team in the top 5 vs ranked in 20-25

It's becoming the NFL Lite.

Teams are weird combinations of journeymen players from all over with slight affiliations at best and little, if any regional or conference identity. There are hardly any real underdogs left, just programs who spend more and less.

Passion fades because every weekend starts to offer the same sterile, corporate experience.
Posted by BuckeyeGoon
Member since Jan 2025
835 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 12:18 pm to
Thankfully most of the big sec games since the youtube tv debacle have been on abc so I can still watch with an antenna but the acc has to be hurting the most right now. I dont think I've been able to watch a single acc game since espn was removed from youtube tv.
Posted by theballguy
Bama Park
Member since Oct 2011
27476 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 12:18 pm to
quote:

every weekend starts to offer the same sterile, corporate experience.


More and more each season and even with each week. Oh well. They'll eventually figure it out. I at least have confidence in that. Just may take a few seasons.
Posted by Nasty_Canasta
Your Mom’s house
Member since Dec 2024
3299 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 12:18 pm to
quote:

It's becoming the NFL Lite.


Which is one of the reasons I’ll never trust what the media tells us about NFL viewership. It could be way down for all we know but they’ll keep floating the “best numbers in the world” mantra. Might as well be hearing those numbers from Kim Jong Un
Posted by SummerOfGeorge
Member since Jul 2013
105413 posts
Posted on 11/12/25 at 12:20 pm to
I dunno, anytime I've been able to be at home and not at kid's sporting events on a Saturday I've flipped on ABC at 12 PM and basically left it on until 10 PM and the games have been awesome.

I've probably enjoyed this season in terms of just watching league games across the spectrum more than any time since the early 2000s.
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