Emerald Bowl is ESPN's Eighth Most-Watched Bowl Ever

Jan. 13, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO – ESPN’s primetime telecast of the 2008 Emerald Bowl was the network’s eighth most-watched college football bowl game ever, according to ratings figures compiled by the network.

The Dec. 27 Emerald Bowl, which matched Miami and California, achieved a bowl record 4,535,000 households based on a 4.6 rating.

The Hurricanes lost the highly-contested battle with the Bears, 24-17, before a standing-room-only crowd of 42,268 at AT&T Park in downtown San Francisco.

The game’s 4.6 rating eclipsed the previous Emerald record of 4.5 for the 2006 matchup between Florida State and UCLA. That game now ranks No. 19 in ESPN bowl history.

The Emerald Bowl clash was also ESPN’s No. 2 rated 2008 telecast out of 23 bowl games televised by the network and 9th overall out of 34 post-season bowls. The Champs Sports Bowl, which preceded the Emerald Bowl on ESPN, was the network’s top-rated game.

DATE          BOWL               HOUSEHOLDS     RATING
12.30.06     Alamo                     5,521,000          6.0
12.27.08     Champs Sports       5,099,000          5.2
12.31.07     Chick-fil-a                4,919,000          5.1
12.28.05     Alamo                     4,876,000          5.4
12.30.05     Chick-fil-a                4,708,000          5.2
12.30.98     Holiday                   4,557,000          6.0
12.29.05     Holiday                   4,556,000          5.0
12.27.08     EMERALD               4,535,000          4.6
12.28.01     Holiday                   4,525,000          5.3
12.30.08     Holiday                   4,511,000          4.5