FOX Sports Posts Record Weekend Across Multiple Platforms

New York — It was a tremendous weekend for FOX Sports, as the return of the NFL, Week 2 of college football, September baseball and a big UFC card helped attract audiences in significant, and in some cases record levels, according to Nielsen.  Details follow:

FOX

–       Week Two of FOX COLLEGE FOOTBALL delivered FOX its highest-rated, most-watched regular-season broadcast ever with a 3.5/7 household rating/share and 6.0 million viewers who tuned in to see Oregon defeat Michigan State, 46-27.  The rating is +75% and audience +76% compared to last year’s comparable West Virginia – Oklahoma tilt (2.0/4, 3.4 million viewers on 9/7/13).

–       Season-to-date FOX COLLEGE FOOTBALL is averaging a 2.2/4, with 3.7 million viewers, +10% and +9%, respectively, over last year (2.0/4, 3.4 million).  Compared to two years ago when FOX also began its college football schedule on Labor Day weekend, 2014 is +10% in households (vs. 2.0/4) and +20% on average audience (vs. 3.1 million).

–       The 2014 NFL on FOX season kicked-off strong with AMERICA’S GAME OF THE WEEK, anchored by the 49ers at Cowboys, which posted a 15.7/31 household rating/share with 28.0 million viewers.  It ranks as the second most-watched and third highest-rated Week 1 NFL telecast ever on FOX.

–       AMERICA’S GAME OF THE WEEK is projected to rank as the top-rated NFL telecast of the week; is FOX’s highest-rated, most-watched program since Super Bowl XLVIII in February; and is the highest-rated, most-watched program on any network since the Academy Awards in March.

–       Early regional games posted an 8.2/18, with 14.1 million viewers which ranks as the third most-watched Week 1 regional window on FOX ever.

–       The doubleheader averaged an 11.9/24, with 21.0 million viewers and ranks as FOX’s second most-watched NFL Week 1 doubleheader ever.

FOX Sports 1

–       FOX Sports 1 is the only sports cable network whose college football games show audience growth year to year.  Averaging 568,000 viewers, FOX Sports 1 is +24% season to date compared to a year ago (458,000).

–       A strong slate of college football and MLB propelled the channel to its sixth most-watched Saturday (6:00 AM ET-6:00 AM ET) since launch, averaging 404,000 total viewers.

–       BYU’s 41-7 pummeling of Texas led the way with 910,000 viewers, making it the channel’s most-watched game so far this season, +189% in viewers compared to the same Saturday a year ago (Louisiana/K-State: 315,000 viewers).  BYU-Texas is the fourth most-watched Big 12 game ever on FOX Sports 1 and the channel’s seventh most-watched college football game ever. 

–       Earlier in the day No. 20 K-State nipped Iowa State 32-28 in a game that attracted 596,000 viewers, +72% from the comparative game last year (Oklahoma State/UTSA: 347,000 viewers). 

–       Following BYU/Texas, Texas Tech scored late against UTEP to win 30-26, in a game that drew 447,000 total viewers, and now is FOX Sports 1’s most-watched Conference USA game ever, breaking a record set just two days before (Arizona-UTSA, 425,000).

–       In an exclusive MLB game on FOX Sports 1, sandwiched between the two Big 12 games, the Yankees beat the Royals 6-2 and delivered 523,000 viewers, +17% versus the average of exclusive games so far this season (447,000).

–       UFC FIGHT NIGHT: JACARE vs. MOUSASI, delivered a peak audience of 1,068,000 total viewers from 11:30-11:45 PM ET on Friday (9/5). The main card (10:00 PM ET – 11:58 PM ET) posted a .73 household rating, averaging 911,000 total viewers, +12% compared to the average of the prior 18 UFC FIGHT NIGHTS on FOX Sports 1 (814,000 viewers).

–       After the fights, FOX SPORTS LIVE averaged 299,000 total viewers from 11:58 PM ET – 1:00 AM ET, +156% over its average in that time period in September 2013.

FOX Sports GO

–       FOX Sports GO attracted its largest two-day audience of the year, with the exception of Super Bowl weekend on Feb 1-2.

– FOX SPORTS –