(09-11-2019 12:09 PM)Foreverandever Wrote:  

(09-10-2019 10:07 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-10-2019 09:49 PM)Foreverandever Wrote:  

(09-06-2019 08:17 AM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(09-06-2019 07:43 AM)stever20 Wrote:  one thing to put in perspective....

Oregon/Auburn rating 4.0
Green Bay/Chicago rating last night 15.3

This shows why college football tv ratings will never reach the level of the NFL. College Football is a regional product compared to the NFL which is a national product. So to those who say college football is more popular than the NFL, you keep on living in that dream of yours.

NFL 520ish games in a year.

College football 1600+ games just in FBS a year.

both your numbers are double....
NFL 256 regular season games plus 11 playoff games
FBS 838 regular season games plus 40 bowl/playoff games

Ok, ratio remains the same. I just did it by teams multiplied by games. Forgot to include the other team playing.

More than 3x as many college games, NFL gets whole regions behind one team. Total numbers are going to favor the college game, especially when including the FCS schools.

Same way it works out for Football vs Basketball, those extra games and therefore people add up.

Total numbers of games only mean a lot if almost every game played has a large number of TV viewers. That is not the case for regular-season college football or basketball.

Of those 838 regular-season FBS games, only about 320 are televised on a channel whose TV ratings are measured by Nielsen, and some of the Nielsen-rated games were watched by fewer than 500,000. There were only two out of those more than 800 regular season CFB games in 2018 that had more than 10 million viewers, while even the cruddiest Monday night NFL games draw 10 million viewers or more.

NFL TV ratings are astronomical compared to CFB TV ratings. Fox's 4 pm game window last Sunday -- only the first week of the NFL season -- drew far more viewers than every CFB telecast last season except for the CFP title game, and wasn't far behind that game, either.

(All of these stats are from Sports Media Watch.)

yeah, every single NFL window this year has beaten college football so far. to even include Monday at 1020pm.....

And maybe even worse..... The worst NFL preseason game on one of the main networks(NBC/CBS/Fox/ESPN) was Raiders/Cardinals. That game would be #12 in all of college football right now.

(09-11-2019 12:09 PM)Foreverandever Wrote:  

(09-10-2019 10:07 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-10-2019 09:49 PM)Foreverandever Wrote:  

(09-06-2019 08:17 AM)HiddenDragon Wrote:  

(09-06-2019 07:43 AM)stever20 Wrote:  one thing to put in perspective....

Oregon/Auburn rating 4.0
Green Bay/Chicago rating last night 15.3

This shows why college football tv ratings will never reach the level of the NFL. College Football is a regional product compared to the NFL which is a national product. So to those who say college football is more popular than the NFL, you keep on living in that dream of yours.

NFL 520ish games in a year.

College football 1600+ games just in FBS a year.

both your numbers are double....
NFL 256 regular season games plus 11 playoff games
FBS 838 regular season games plus 40 bowl/playoff games

Ok, ratio remains the same. I just did it by teams multiplied by games. Forgot to include the other team playing.

More than 3x as many college games, NFL gets whole regions behind one team. Total numbers are going to favor the college game, especially when including the FCS schools.

Same way it works out for Football vs Basketball, those extra games and therefore people add up.

If 3 college games can be produced for less than what 1 NFL game costs, that math might work. They just need to show multiple college games in each window - which they do.

updated for week 3. 2 games get in.

this week should get at least 3 games on the list.

(09-09-2019 08:14 PM)Hokie Mark Wrote:  

(09-09-2019 07:32 PM)Nittany_Bearcat Wrote:  Cinci/Ohio State - if it gets 4MM, that's still 14% higher than Oregon State @ Ohio State from last year. Which was fairly similar: Ohio State, Noon game, ABC, blow-out, mid-tier opponent. (the 2018 game did have a weather delay, admittedly)

UC/OSU is always guaranteed to do well just because it pulls in every football fan in the state of Ohio - those who want to see the Buckeyes win, and those who want to see them lose...

Cincinnati and Ohio State received 2.94M viewers, outpaced by Army-Navy at the same time slot (it was a much more competitive game).

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2019/09...igan-army/

(09-17-2019 01:29 PM)stever20 Wrote:  updated for week 3. 2 games get in.

this week should get at least 3 games on the list.

ND-UGa will likely be the most watched game of the season so far.

(09-17-2019 03:28 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 01:29 PM)stever20 Wrote:  updated for week 3. 2 games get in.

this week should get at least 3 games on the list.

ND-UGa will likely be the most watched game of the season so far.

you would think so... especially if it's competitive.

I'll be interested to see that Michigan/Wisconsin rating on Saturday at noon. A real test for the Fox strategy. How does that do vs the A&M/Auburn game?

(09-17-2019 03:31 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 03:28 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 01:29 PM)stever20 Wrote:  updated for week 3. 2 games get in.

this week should get at least 3 games on the list.

ND-UGa will likely be the most watched game of the season so far.

you would think so... especially if it's competitive.

I'll be interested to see that Michigan/Wisconsin rating on Saturday at noon. A real test for the Fox strategy. How does that do vs the A&M/Auburn game?

Michigan-Wisconsin is a matchup of ranked teams, and there's no ABC game at noon ET this week. Would be shocking if Michigan-Wisconsin doesn't have the most viewers in its timeslot.

(09-17-2019 06:16 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 03:31 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 03:28 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 01:29 PM)stever20 Wrote:  updated for week 3. 2 games get in.

this week should get at least 3 games on the list.

ND-UGa will likely be the most watched game of the season so far.

you would think so... especially if it's competitive.

I'll be interested to see that Michigan/Wisconsin rating on Saturday at noon. A real test for the Fox strategy. How does that do vs the A&M/Auburn game?

Michigan-Wisconsin is a matchup of ranked teams, and there's no ABC game at noon ET this week. Would be shocking if Michigan-Wisconsin doesn't have the most viewers in its timeslot.

There is actually- Michigan St/Northwestern. Fox has gotten the most viewers each time. My point is how high can they go with these noon kickoffs. How is it competitively vs A&M/Auburn later in the day?

(09-17-2019 07:55 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 06:16 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 03:31 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 03:28 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(09-17-2019 01:29 PM)stever20 Wrote:  updated for week 3. 2 games get in.

this week should get at least 3 games on the list.

ND-UGa will likely be the most watched game of the season so far.

you would think so... especially if it's competitive.

I'll be interested to see that Michigan/Wisconsin rating on Saturday at noon. A real test for the Fox strategy. How does that do vs the A&M/Auburn game?

Michigan-Wisconsin is a matchup of ranked teams, and there's no ABC game at noon ET this week. Would be shocking if Michigan-Wisconsin doesn't have the most viewers in its timeslot.

There is actually- Michigan St/Northwestern. Fox has gotten the most viewers each time. My point is how high can they go with these noon kickoffs. How is it competitively vs A&M/Auburn later in the day?

Fox Sports is already bragging about their ratings so far this season, but note that they're bragging about percentage increases and not Fox's total viewership -- which is still well behind ABC/ESPN, as we can see from ABC/ESPN having 8 of the 10 most watched games so far while Fox has 1.

Quote:Michael Mulvihill
@mulvihill79

Through CFB Week 3:

Total College Football viewing, all networks: +4%

CFB On FOX: +53%
FOX Noon window: +63%
FOX late afternoon window: +107%

11:36 AM · Sep 17, 2019

lets look at it-
Last year
week 1
1.385M FAU/Okla 1230
930k UNC/Cal 400

week 2
2.896 UCLA/Okla 1
2.017 ISU/Iowa 430
2.290 USC/Stan 845

week 3
1.079 Hou/TT 430
2.950 USC/Tex 820

this year
week 1
2.62 FAU/OSU noon
2.02 NW/Stan 4pm

week 2
4.72 Army/Mich noon
3.45 Neb/Col 330
2.17 Buf/PSU 8pm

week 3
3.05 OSU/Ind noon
2.71 ASU/MSU 4pm
2.74 Okla/UCLA 8pm

So they're getting more for FAU/OSU, Army/Mich, OSU/Ind than they did FAU/Okla and UCLA/Okla. Who knew?
They're gettign more for NW/Stanford, Nebraska/Colorado, and ASU/MSU than they did UNC/Cal, ISU/Iowa, and Hou/TT? Shocking

And their numbers are just going to get more deceiving. next 2 weeks last year- they didn't have a noon kickoff game- but they'll keep on comparing year to year. The late games are down from 2.62 million to 2.46 million for the 1st 3 weeks.

And yes Wedge brings up a great point. For as "good" of a season as Fox is having supposedly, they have exactly 3 games over 3 million viewers(with one at 3.05 million)... ESPN/ABC has 10, and has an 11th at 2.95 million.

(09-18-2019 10:48 AM)stever20 Wrote:  lets look at it-
Last year
week 1
1.385M FAU/Okla 1230
930k UNC/Cal 400

week 2
2.896 UCLA/Okla 1
2.017 ISU/Iowa 430
2.290 USC/Stan 845

week 3
1.079 Hou/TT 430
2.950 USC/Tex 820

this year
week 1
2.62 FAU/OSU noon
2.02 NW/Stan 4pm

week 2
4.72 Army/Mich noon
3.45 Neb/Col 330
2.17 Buf/PSU 8pm

week 3
3.05 OSU/Ind noon
2.71 ASU/MSU 4pm
2.74 Okla/UCLA 8pm

So they're getting more for FAU/OSU, Army/Mich, OSU/Ind than they did FAU/Okla and UCLA/Okla. Who knew?
They're gettign more for NW/Stanford, Nebraska/Colorado, and ASU/MSU than they did UNC/Cal, ISU/Iowa, and Hou/TT? Shocking

And their numbers are just going to get more deceiving. next 2 weeks last year- they didn't have a noon kickoff game- but they'll keep on comparing year to year. The late games are down from 2.62 million to 2.46 million for the 1st 3 weeks.

And yes Wedge brings up a great point. For as "good" of a season as Fox is having supposedly, they have exactly 3 games over 3 million viewers(with one at 3.05 million)... ESPN/ABC has 10, and has an 11th at 2.95 million.

In the data I’ve seen the fox ESPN ratings expectation assuming similar matchups tends to be:

ABC

Fox or ESPN

ESPN2 or FS1

EspnU

FS2

So no shock that two networks that are equal or better to Fox are outpacing fox. Fox and FS1 will grow baseline viewership as more fans get accustomed to seeking out those channels for cfb when “their” team isn’t necessarily playing.

(09-18-2019 12:30 PM)1845 Bear Wrote:  

(09-18-2019 10:48 AM)stever20 Wrote:  lets look at it-
Last year
week 1
1.385M FAU/Okla 1230
930k UNC/Cal 400

week 2
2.896 UCLA/Okla 1
2.017 ISU/Iowa 430
2.290 USC/Stan 845

week 3
1.079 Hou/TT 430
2.950 USC/Tex 820

this year
week 1
2.62 FAU/OSU noon
2.02 NW/Stan 4pm

week 2
4.72 Army/Mich noon
3.45 Neb/Col 330
2.17 Buf/PSU 8pm

week 3
3.05 OSU/Ind noon
2.71 ASU/MSU 4pm
2.74 Okla/UCLA 8pm

So they're getting more for FAU/OSU, Army/Mich, OSU/Ind than they did FAU/Okla and UCLA/Okla. Who knew?
They're gettign more for NW/Stanford, Nebraska/Colorado, and ASU/MSU than they did UNC/Cal, ISU/Iowa, and Hou/TT? Shocking

And their numbers are just going to get more deceiving. next 2 weeks last year- they didn't have a noon kickoff game- but they'll keep on comparing year to year. The late games are down from 2.62 million to 2.46 million for the 1st 3 weeks.

And yes Wedge brings up a great point. For as "good" of a season as Fox is having supposedly, they have exactly 3 games over 3 million viewers(with one at 3.05 million)... ESPN/ABC has 10, and has an 11th at 2.95 million.

In the data I’ve seen the fox ESPN ratings expectation assuming similar matchups tends to be:

ABC

Fox or ESPN

ESPN2 or FS1

EspnU

FS2

So no shock that two networks that are equal or better to Fox are outpacing fox. Fox and FS1 will grow baseline viewership as more fans get accustomed to seeking out those channels for cfb when “their” team isn’t necessarily playing.

The problem though that Fox/FS1 has that isn't changing for at least the next 4-5 years is that their content just isn't as good as ABC/ESPN...

ACC- ABC/ESPN get everything
Big Ten- split pretty much equal
Big 12- split pretty much equal
Pac 12- split pretty much equal
SEC- ESPN gets all but top 15 games

So it's really close with the 3 conferences, but ABC/ESPN have the ACC/SEC- in a sport where the Southeast dominates things.

(09-18-2019 12:33 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-18-2019 12:30 PM)1845 Bear Wrote:  

(09-18-2019 10:48 AM)stever20 Wrote:  lets look at it-
Last year
week 1
1.385M FAU/Okla 1230
930k UNC/Cal 400

week 2
2.896 UCLA/Okla 1
2.017 ISU/Iowa 430
2.290 USC/Stan 845

week 3
1.079 Hou/TT 430
2.950 USC/Tex 820

this year
week 1
2.62 FAU/OSU noon
2.02 NW/Stan 4pm

week 2
4.72 Army/Mich noon
3.45 Neb/Col 330
2.17 Buf/PSU 8pm

week 3
3.05 OSU/Ind noon
2.71 ASU/MSU 4pm
2.74 Okla/UCLA 8pm

So they're getting more for FAU/OSU, Army/Mich, OSU/Ind than they did FAU/Okla and UCLA/Okla. Who knew?
They're gettign more for NW/Stanford, Nebraska/Colorado, and ASU/MSU than they did UNC/Cal, ISU/Iowa, and Hou/TT? Shocking

And their numbers are just going to get more deceiving. next 2 weeks last year- they didn't have a noon kickoff game- but they'll keep on comparing year to year. The late games are down from 2.62 million to 2.46 million for the 1st 3 weeks.

And yes Wedge brings up a great point. For as "good" of a season as Fox is having supposedly, they have exactly 3 games over 3 million viewers(with one at 3.05 million)... ESPN/ABC has 10, and has an 11th at 2.95 million.

In the data I’ve seen the fox ESPN ratings expectation assuming similar matchups tends to be:

ABC

Fox or ESPN

ESPN2 or FS1

EspnU

FS2

So no shock that two networks that are equal or better to Fox are outpacing fox. Fox and FS1 will grow baseline viewership as more fans get accustomed to seeking out those channels for cfb when “their” team isn’t necessarily playing.

The problem though that Fox/FS1 has that isn't changing for at least the next 4-5 years is that their content just isn't as good as ABC/ESPN...

ACC- ABC/ESPN get everything
Big Ten- split pretty much equal
Big 12- split pretty much equal
Pac 12- split pretty much equal
SEC- ESPN gets all but top 15 games

So it's really close with the 3 conferences, but ABC/ESPN have the ACC/SEC- in a sport where the Southeast dominates things.

I’m not expecting Fox to catch ABC or FS1 to catch ESPN. I do think long term it’s reasonable for Fox to outpace ESPN and FS1 to outpace espn2.

Still would be behind the competition but wouldn’t be a full rung down.

(09-18-2019 01:14 PM)1845 Bear Wrote:  

(09-18-2019 12:33 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(09-18-2019 12:30 PM)1845 Bear Wrote:  

(09-18-2019 10:48 AM)stever20 Wrote:  lets look at it-
Last year
week 1
1.385M FAU/Okla 1230
930k UNC/Cal 400

week 2
2.896 UCLA/Okla 1
2.017 ISU/Iowa 430
2.290 USC/Stan 845

week 3
1.079 Hou/TT 430
2.950 USC/Tex 820

this year
week 1
2.62 FAU/OSU noon
2.02 NW/Stan 4pm

week 2
4.72 Army/Mich noon
3.45 Neb/Col 330
2.17 Buf/PSU 8pm

week 3
3.05 OSU/Ind noon
2.71 ASU/MSU 4pm
2.74 Okla/UCLA 8pm

So they're getting more for FAU/OSU, Army/Mich, OSU/Ind than they did FAU/Okla and UCLA/Okla. Who knew?
They're gettign more for NW/Stanford, Nebraska/Colorado, and ASU/MSU than they did UNC/Cal, ISU/Iowa, and Hou/TT? Shocking

And their numbers are just going to get more deceiving. next 2 weeks last year- they didn't have a noon kickoff game- but they'll keep on comparing year to year. The late games are down from 2.62 million to 2.46 million for the 1st 3 weeks.

And yes Wedge brings up a great point. For as "good" of a season as Fox is having supposedly, they have exactly 3 games over 3 million viewers(with one at 3.05 million)... ESPN/ABC has 10, and has an 11th at 2.95 million.

In the data I’ve seen the fox ESPN ratings expectation assuming similar matchups tends to be:

ABC

Fox or ESPN

ESPN2 or FS1

EspnU

FS2

So no shock that two networks that are equal or better to Fox are outpacing fox. Fox and FS1 will grow baseline viewership as more fans get accustomed to seeking out those channels for cfb when “their” team isn’t necessarily playing.

The problem though that Fox/FS1 has that isn't changing for at least the next 4-5 years is that their content just isn't as good as ABC/ESPN...

ACC- ABC/ESPN get everything
Big Ten- split pretty much equal
Big 12- split pretty much equal
Pac 12- split pretty much equal
SEC- ESPN gets all but top 15 games

So it's really close with the 3 conferences, but ABC/ESPN have the ACC/SEC- in a sport where the Southeast dominates things.

I’m not expecting Fox to catch ABC or FS1 to catch ESPN. I do think long term it’s reasonable for Fox to outpace ESPN and FS1 to outpace espn2.

Still would be behind the competition but wouldn’t be a full rung down.

As long as ESPN has the SEC games, it's going to be tough for Fox to catch them. Florida/Kentucky- a rather mediocre SEC game got 3.14 million viewers- higher than all but 2 Fox games so far this year.

(09-18-2019 12:30 PM)1845 Bear Wrote:  

(09-18-2019 10:48 AM)stever20 Wrote:  lets look at it-
Last year
week 1
1.385M FAU/Okla 1230
930k UNC/Cal 400

week 2
2.896 UCLA/Okla 1
2.017 ISU/Iowa 430
2.290 USC/Stan 845

week 3
1.079 Hou/TT 430
2.950 USC/Tex 820

this year
week 1
2.62 FAU/OSU noon
2.02 NW/Stan 4pm

week 2
4.72 Army/Mich noon
3.45 Neb/Col 330
2.17 Buf/PSU 8pm

week 3
3.05 OSU/Ind noon
2.71 ASU/MSU 4pm
2.74 Okla/UCLA 8pm

So they're getting more for FAU/OSU, Army/Mich, OSU/Ind than they did FAU/Okla and UCLA/Okla. Who knew?
They're gettign more for NW/Stanford, Nebraska/Colorado, and ASU/MSU than they did UNC/Cal, ISU/Iowa, and Hou/TT? Shocking

And their numbers are just going to get more deceiving. next 2 weeks last year- they didn't have a noon kickoff game- but they'll keep on comparing year to year. The late games are down from 2.62 million to 2.46 million for the 1st 3 weeks.

And yes Wedge brings up a great point. For as "good" of a season as Fox is having supposedly, they have exactly 3 games over 3 million viewers(with one at 3.05 million)... ESPN/ABC has 10, and has an 11th at 2.95 million.

In the data I’ve seen the fox ESPN ratings expectation assuming similar matchups tends to be:

ABC

Fox or ESPN

ESPN2 or FS1

EspnU

FS2

So no shock that two networks that are equal or better to Fox are outpacing fox. Fox and FS1 will grow baseline viewership as more fans get accustomed to seeking out those channels for cfb when “their” team isn’t necessarily playing.

FS1 isn't even doing as well as ESPN2 (let alone ESPN) when we compare viewership for comparable games in comparable time slots.

We've been hoping that Fox/FS1 will become a near-equal sports competitor to ABC/ESPN, because strong competition is good and means more options for us to watch. But it's been several years since Fox/FS1 dived into extensive broadcasting of CFB, and so far they have overpromised and underdelivered.

IMO the danger, from a fan's point of view, is that at some point, senior Fox execs could ask the sports execs why they're paying the same going rates as ABC/ESPN for CFB while only delivering half the viewers. And maybe they'll tell the sports guys that their big spending experiment is over, and then fans will have fewer good viewing options.

I think it'll be interesting to watch these next few years as it will tell us a lot about the future landscape.....

One thing- even MLB is starting to make life for Fox tough with FS1. They forced Fox to put now at least 2 games on Big Fox for the LCS as well as any game 7 for the next few years, and then the new deal takes over in 2022....

NHL runs thru 2020-21
NFL runs thru 2022
NBA runs thru 2024-25

It'll be interesting to see if Fox/FS1 can get anything for NHL or NBA. And if ESPN picks up NHL.

FS1 has been really interesting. For whatever reason it just hasn't gelled like folks thought it might. And like with what MLB is doing with them- I think contracts with Fox going forward are going to limit the ability of Fox to put things like the Cubs 2016 LCS on FS1 any longer at all.

(09-18-2019 01:20 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(09-18-2019 12:30 PM)1845 Bear Wrote:  

(09-18-2019 10:48 AM)stever20 Wrote:  lets look at it-
Last year
week 1
1.385M FAU/Okla 1230
930k UNC/Cal 400

week 2
2.896 UCLA/Okla 1
2.017 ISU/Iowa 430
2.290 USC/Stan 845

week 3
1.079 Hou/TT 430
2.950 USC/Tex 820

this year
week 1
2.62 FAU/OSU noon
2.02 NW/Stan 4pm

week 2
4.72 Army/Mich noon
3.45 Neb/Col 330
2.17 Buf/PSU 8pm

week 3
3.05 OSU/Ind noon
2.71 ASU/MSU 4pm
2.74 Okla/UCLA 8pm

So they're getting more for FAU/OSU, Army/Mich, OSU/Ind than they did FAU/Okla and UCLA/Okla. Who knew?
They're gettign more for NW/Stanford, Nebraska/Colorado, and ASU/MSU than they did UNC/Cal, ISU/Iowa, and Hou/TT? Shocking

And their numbers are just going to get more deceiving. next 2 weeks last year- they didn't have a noon kickoff game- but they'll keep on comparing year to year. The late games are down from 2.62 million to 2.46 million for the 1st 3 weeks.

And yes Wedge brings up a great point. For as "good" of a season as Fox is having supposedly, they have exactly 3 games over 3 million viewers(with one at 3.05 million)... ESPN/ABC has 10, and has an 11th at 2.95 million.

In the data I’ve seen the fox ESPN ratings expectation assuming similar matchups tends to be:

ABC

Fox or ESPN

ESPN2 or FS1

EspnU

FS2

So no shock that two networks that are equal or better to Fox are outpacing fox. Fox and FS1 will grow baseline viewership as more fans get accustomed to seeking out those channels for cfb when “their” team isn’t necessarily playing.

FS1 isn't even doing as well as ESPN2 (let alone ESPN) when we compare viewership for comparable games in comparable time slots.

We've been hoping that Fox/FS1 will become a near-equal sports competitor to ABC/ESPN, because strong competition is good and means more options for us to watch. But it's been several years since Fox/FS1 dived into extensive broadcasting of CFB, and so far they have overpromised and underdelivered.

IMO the danger, from a fan's point of view, is that at some point, senior Fox execs could ask the sports execs why they're paying the same going rates as ABC/ESPN for CFB while only delivering half the viewers. And maybe they'll tell the sports guys that their big spending experiment is over, and then fans will have fewer good viewing options.

I would assume it’s not Fox Vs ESPN that dictates whether they continue- it’s how does that ROI compare to whatever else they’d throw up there instead of CFB. The high cost makes ROI tough but not catching ESPN doesn’t necessarily mean their other content options are preferable.

Will be interesting to watch.

And CBS, with a Bama/South Carolina game which was pretty much garbage time for the entire 4th quarter, drew more than any of Fox’s games this year so far (4.953 million).

(09-18-2019 02:09 PM)sctvman Wrote:  And CBS, with a Bama/South Carolina game which was pretty much garbage time for the entire 4th quarter, drew more than any of Fox’s games this year so far (4.953 million).

CBS does better than any other network channel between the SEC game/s of the week and Army/Navy. Not shocked that did well.

Part of it is the SEC and part of it is 20+ years of consistently getting only top matchups in roughly the same tv window on the same channel. Many folks simply tune into that and to a lesser extent ABC & ESPN for that reason.