There’s been no shortage of criticism surrounding the College Football postseason – even the President-elect threw in his two cents – but there’s no denying the bowl season still generates a huge amount of viewer interest.
There is no better bellwether than this year’s BCS National Championship between Oklahoma and Florida. Last night’s FedEx BCS National Championship received a 15.8 rating, up 16% from last year’s game.
In the metered markets, Oklahoma City had the highest local rating, with 51.7% of the Sooners’ home DMA tuning into the game. Five local Florida …

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
DAY
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
NBC NFL PLAYOFF GAME 2
NBC
Saturday
3,632,000

2
NBC NFL PLAYOFF PRE-KICK2
NBC
Saturday
3,053,000

3
FOX NFC WILDCARD POST GME
FOX
Sunday
2,846,000

4
ROSE BOWL
ABC
Thursday
2,010,000

5
COLD CASE
CBS
Sunday
1,864,000

6
UNIT, THE
CBS
Monday
1,459,000

7
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
Sunday
1,476,000

8
60 MINUTES
CBS
Sunday
1,397,000

9
EXTREME MAKEOVER:HM ED-8P
ABC
Sunday
1,277,000

10
24: RDMPTN PRQL SP-1/4 8P
FOX
Sunday
1,265,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (December 29, 2008 – January 4, 2009)