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BCS Championship Game Garners Low TV Rating

2012 BCS National Championship Game lowest viewership level in the 14-year history of the BCSMonday night’s BCS National Championship Game may have generated tremendous interest in the states of Alabama and Louisiana, but the same cannot be said for the rest of the United States.

The Alabama victory over LSU drew a national rating of 14.0. This figure represents the second lowest viewership level in the 14-year history of the BCS. The 2012 rating was down eight percent from last year’s Auburn vs. Oregon matchup in Glendale, Arizona.

The lowest rated BCS National Championship Game remains the 2002 Rose Bowl battle between Miami and Nebraska.

The highest rated BCS game was the legendary 2006 Rose Bowl involving Texas and USC.

To no one’s surprise, the highest overnight local market ratings took place in Birmingham (61.2) and New Orleans (53.3).

The regional, SEC centric nature of this game was evident when noting that of the 10 markets with the best viewership, nine of them were in the South, with seven of the markets located in SEC states.  

Minneapolis/St Paul was the only market, outside of the South, to crack the top 10.

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Jon Rapoport has spent his career working on all sides of the media and sports industry. He began his career at ESPN in studio production at the ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut. While there, he won an Emmy for his contribution to "SportsCenter." Following his tenure at ESPN, Jon relocated to Los Angeles, joining the staff of the “Best Damn Sports Show” on FOX Sports Net.

Upon leaving the show, Jon worked in Web site and sports radio show development/production, with Major League Baseball in media operation logistics for the World Baseball Classic and on behalf of Los Angeles’ effort to bring the 2016 Summer Olympics back to Southern California. Jon currently writes a political blog for the Los Angeles edition of Examiner.com.

Born and raised in Plymouth, Minnesota (just outside of Minneapolis), Jon is an avid sports fan, particularly for his beloved Minnesota teams. Jon graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, where he earned his BA in communication and interned for ABC’s “Good Morning America” in New York City and Washington D.C. He is married and resides in Los Angeles.  

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