quote:
The number of viewers comprising the 3.6 rating in the Atlanta market would greatly outnumber that of the 7.4 rating in the Birmingham market if that’s the case.

Those ABC/ESPN numbers are somewhat skewed because it includes the ABC games which never feature SEC games. It causes Michigan and Ohio to have inflated numbers since they both basically play in ABC every single week.

If you look at just ESPN's ratings (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU), it provides a more accurate reading because there is more diversity on those networks.

Back in 2014, ESPN listed their Top 25 Television markets based on ratings. Birmingham was of course #1 by a wide margin. Here the the markets at the Top:

1. Birmingham- 9.2
2. New Orleans- 4.2
3. Greenville- 4.1
3. Knoxville- 4.1
5. Atlanta- 3.8
5. Memphis- 3.8
7. Jacksonville- 3.5
8. Oklahoma City- 3.4
9. Tulsa- 3.1
10. Nashville- 2.9
10. Columbus- 2.9

If you take these average ratings and compare it to the total number of households in each market, here are the total average viewing households per CFB Telecast on a metered ESPN Network in 2014:

1. Atlanta- 88,712
2. Birmingham- 65,337
3. Phoenix- 38,522
4. Tampa- 38,274
5. Orlando- 35,351
6. Greenville- 34,523
7. Charlotte- 30,005
8. Nashville- 29,082
9. Portland- 27,698
10. New Orleans- 26,928
11. Columbus- 26,493
12. Raleigh- 24,990
13. Memphis- 24,835
14. Oklahoma City- 23,953
15. Salt Lake City- 23,332
16. Jacksonville- 23,087
17. Knoxville- 21,123
18. W. Palm Beach- 18,953
19. Austin- 18,953
20. Louisville- 17,736
21. Las Vegas- 17,252
22. Tulsa- 16,436
23. Norfolk- 16,431
24. Greensboro- 15,848
25. Richmond- 14,266
26. Dayton- 10.739

***Unfortunately, ESPN doesn't keep going down the list to tell us the ratings in other markets that aren't as into CFB. For instance, NYC or LA.... or even Dallas and Houston.

Dallas had a 2.0 rating during the 2013 season, but did not make that Top 25 markets in 2014. The #25 market in 2014 had a 2.1 rating.

So let's just assume Dallas again had a 2.0 rating.... that would be enough to put them up to 52,074 viewing households..... enough to easily secure the #3 spot behind Atlanta and Birmingham.

In all actuality, in terms of shear # of households watching the average ESPN televised CFB game, Atlanta is likely #1.... Birmingham is likely #2.... and Dallas is probably #3 followed by Houston, Phoenix, Tampa, Orlando and possibly markets like New York City, Chicago, etc. which are just so large.