UPDATED: Monday’s BCS title game is the most-watched cable broadcast ever.
ESPN’s Tostitos BCS National Championship, which pit the victorious Auburn Tigers against the Oregon Ducks, drew 27.3 million viewers. A Monday Night Football game between the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 5, 2009 was the previous high, which drew 21.8 million.
The Tigers-Ducks game posted an ESPN record 17.8 fast national rating, according to Nielsen. This would make it the highest in the history of cable TV, with records going back to 2001.
ESPN’s Monday Night Football telecast of the New England Patriots-New Orleans Saints game on Nov. 30, 2009 was the previous cable high at 14.4.
The 16.1 overnight metered market rating beat the BCS National Championship games in 2005 (14.6), which aired on ABC, and 2008 (15.6), broadcast on Fox. This year was the first the BCS title game was broadcast on cable. ESPN will continue airing the title game through 2014.
The Auburn-Oregon matchup drew big audiences in their regions, respectively: Birmingham, Alabama (67.0) and Portland, Oregon (37.5).
