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BYU vs. Utah, TV Ratings

by Mars · 5/24/2010

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M
Mars


http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700034528/BYUUtah-TV-ratings-shaping-up.html



"If you go by the latest ESPN appearances, the 2009-10 bowl games, Utah's 2.4 rating in the Poinsettia Bowl against California was better than BYU's in the Las Vegas Bowl (2.2) against Oregon State, although the Poinsettia's rating was down 25 percent from the previous year."



"In the '90s, BYU regularly appeared on ESPN and, according to associate athletic director Duff Tittle, the Cougars had five of the top 10 highest-rated football telecasts in ESPN history at that time."



"In 2008 and 2009 (using those two years so that satellite can be included), BYU and Utah averaged just more than a one rating point difference, with BYU seeing more viewership on average."



"In 2008 and 2009, the highest average rated football game for both teams was the BYU/Utah game — a 12.8 in 2009 and a 10.0 in 2008."



"Both BYU and Utah saw increased viewership for football in 2009 over the prior year, with both gaining an average of just more than one rating point (10,000 households)."



"A good comparison may be this past season when both BYU and Utah played Utah State: BYU vs. Utah State drew a 7.5 average rating while Utah vs. Utah State was a 6.9 average."



"Football sees better ratings than basketball for both institutions; there is about a four rating point difference over the course of the respective seasons."



"BYU viewership increased in 2009-10 over 2008-09 by nearly one rating point, while Utah viewership slightly declined. This is not surprising, as a common element among sports programming is ratings rise and fall based on team performance."



"Similar to football, there was an average of one rating point difference between BYU and Utah for basketball in 2008-09, with BYU seeing more viewership on average. In 2009-10, that margin increased, with BYU enjoying more success than Utah in basketball."



"In 2009-10, the largest average viewership for a single game for both teams came at the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas — BYU drew a 4.8 rating, with Utah collecting a 2.8."



"In 2008-09, the BYU/Utah game on The mtn. had an average rating of 4.5 — outstanding for basketball — and was each team's highest TV draw on The mtn. that season."
M
Mars


For an article attempting to quantify each school's TV draw, it does a very sloppy job. I'm left to try to translate the vague language myself into solid numbers. Any help would be appreciated. So...



*He says 1 rating point = 10,000 households.



*He says the BYU-Utah football game in 2010 had a 12.8 share (The Mtn. standard), and BYU-Oregon State in 2010 had a 2.2 share (ESPN). So 128,000 people tuned in the the Holy War, 106K (about 6 times) more than 22,000 who tuned in to the Las Vegas Bowl? Is that really apples to apples?



*2009 Utah Football: 10.0 (100,000) vs. BYU.

Average = Say, 4.6ish (46,000)? x13 = 598,000

*2009 BYU Football: 10.0 (100,000) vs. Utah.

Average = Say, 5.8ish (58,000)? x13 = 754,000



*2010 Utah Football: 6.9 (69,000) vs. Utah State, 12.8 (128,000) vs. BYU, 2.4 (24,000) vs. Cal.

Average = Say, 5.8ish (58,000)? x 13 = 754,000

*2010 BYU Football: 7.5 (75,000) vs. Utah State, 12.8 (128,000) vs. Utah, 2.2 (22,000) vs. Oregon State.

Average = Say, 7.0ish (70,000)? x 13 = 910,000



~Utah Football Total: 5.2 (52,000) x 26 = 1,352,000 (676,000/year)

~BYU Football Total: 6.4 (64,000) x 26 = 1,664,000 (832,000/year)



*2008-2009 Utah Basketball: 4.5 (45,000) vs. BYU.

Average = Say, 1.2ish (12,000)? x 34 = 408,000

*2008-2009 BYU Basketball: 4.5 (45,000) @ Utah.

Average = Say, 2.1ish (21,000)? x 33 = 693,000



*2009-2010 Utah Basketball: 2.8 (28,000) vs. UNLV (MWC Tourny).

Average = Say, 1.0ish (10,000)? x 31 = 310,000

*2009-2010 BYU Basketball: 4.8 (48,000) vs. TCU (MWC Tourny).

Average = Say, 2.9ish (29,000)? x 36 = 1,044,000



~Utah Men's Basketball Total: approx 1.1 (11,000) x 65 = 718,000 (359,000/year)

~BYU Men's Basketball Total: approx. 2.5 (25,000) x 69 = 1,737,000 (868,500/year)



Major Utah Men's Sports: x 91 = 2,070,000 overall total TV viewers (1,035,000/year)

Major BYU Men's Sports: x 95 = 3,401,000 overall total TV viewers (1,700,500/year)





For the sake of argument, let's pretend that these numbers -my best guesstimations based on very limited information- are valid, and were actually laid out in a concise, informative article, replacing the one that was written in reality (linked at the top). What would we learn from these psuedo-factual numbers?



A- BYU football draws 23% more TV viewers than Utah (156,000 more per year).

B- BYU men's basketball draws 127% more TV viewers than Utah (yes, more than double - 509,500 more per year by my numbers).

C- BYU's two major men's sports draw 64% more TV viewers than Utah. That's approximately 665,500 viewers per year.



So, if you had to make a decision between 100 dollars and $164, which would you go with? The PAC-10, odd as they are, would likely go with the first choice. All the much better for the Big XII perhaps...
S
Sammich
Let's not forget, however, that at least 1/3-1/2 of Utah's viewers are probably BYU "fans" watching the game to either root for or against the Utes. Those numbers go away as soon as Utah leaves the conference.
M
Mars
Sammich wrote:
Let's not forget, however, that at least 1/3-1/2 of Utah's viewers are probably BYU "fans" watching the game to either root for or against the Utes. Those numbers go away as soon as Utah leaves the conference.

I was worried those numbers might go up. I'm sure TCU fans watch Texas games, especially in seasons where they play each other. USU fans might become bigger Ute bandwagoners as well.



Still, 64%? That's a HUGE number! The PAC-10 is soo DUMB!!
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