Coming off of record-low ratings in 2011, the new season of Notre Dame football on NBC started on a down note Saturday afternoon.
The Purdue/Notre Dame college football game drew a 2.1 overnight rating on NBC Saturday afternoon, down 13% from the network’s first Notre Dame telecast last year (USF/ND: 2.4), and down 9% from the first telecast in 2010 (PUR/ND: 2.3).
Last year’s South Florida/Notre Dame opener concluded on NBC Sports Network (still named Versus at the time) due to weather delays.
Saturday’s 2.1 overnight ranks as the second-lowest for a Notre Dame home opener on NBC since at least 1997 (overnights prior to 1998 were not immediately available). Only Nevada/Notre Dame in 2009 (1.3) earned lower numbers.
Purdue/Notre Dame was the weekend’s lowest rated college football game on broadcast in the metered markets, but only barely. Penn State/Virginia earned a 2.2 overnight on ABC earlier in the day, and even the Nebraska/UCLA primetime game on FOX could only muster a 2.4, reports Sports Media Watch.