Here are ESPN's TV ratings for the 2014-15 season. Hartford/New Haven ranks 29th, with a 0.97 rating, behind that hoops hotbed of Tampa/St. Pete and just ahead of San Diego. San Diego?
(Officially, Hartford finishes tied for 26th, since the numbers are rounded off. So Hartford gets a 0.8, along with Chicago, Jacksonville, Tampa, San Diego and Albuquerque).
You wonder one of the reasons why Louisville got the ACC invite over UConn? Louisville tops the list for the 13th straight year, this time with a 5.95 rating, nearly double second-place Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina's 3.02. Sure, Louisville certainly gets a big bump from all the Kentucky fans in the area, as well, but it still shows that the 'Ville is a hoops hotbed.
The AAC actually does pretty well on the list. Cincinnati (No. 6) and Memphis (No. 10) are in the top 10. Sure, Cincy also probably gets a boost from the UK fans (maybe Ohio State fans, too), but the numbers are what they are.
But perhaps the AAC is one of the reasons Hartford's numbers are where they are. In 2011-12, Hartford ranked 17th on the list. In 2012-13 (the postseason ban season) they were 14th. Last season, Hartford was in about the same place as it is this year.
It should be pointed out that these are only the ratings for games on ESPN (not any ESPN2, ESPNU or anything like that), so we're only talking about a handful of UConn games. But if you take into account all the ESPN platforms (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews), Hartford isn't much better -- tied for 22nd.
| Louisville | 5.95 | 656,900 |
| Greensboro-High Point | 3.02 | 689,040 |
| Raleigh-Durham | 2.73 | 1,135,920 |
| Kansas City | 2.44 | 923,290 |
| Columbus, OH | 2.08 | 913,550 |
| Cincinnati | 1.89 | 876,290 |
| Dayton | 1.87 | 466,930 |
| Indianapolis | 1.85 | 1,082,690 |
| Charlotte | 1.80 | 1,154,040 |
| Memphis | 1.76 | 653,560 |
| Norfolk-Portsmth-N. Nws | 1.68 | 714,410 |
| Knoxville | 1.68 | 515,190 |
| Richmond | 1.59 | 548,680 |
| Greenville-Sprtnburg-Ash | 1.50 | 842,020 |
| Nashville | 1.46 | 1,002,840 |
| Milwaukee | 1.35 | 893,210 |
| Las Vegas | 1.29 | 718,820 |
| Oklahoma City | 1.23 | 704,490 |
| New Orleans | 1.15 | 641,150 |
| Birmingham | 1.10 | 710,180 |
| Tulsa | 1.07 | 530,200 |
| Atlanta | 1.03 | 2,334,520 |
| Baltimore | 0.98 | 1,092,620 |
| Detroit | 0.93 | 1,833,320 |
| Washington, DC | 0.91 | 2,408,990 |
| Chicago | 0.82 | 3,477,250 |
| Jacksonville-N. Brunswk. | 0.81 | 659,630 |
| Tampa-St. Pete | 0.80 | 1,822,550 |
| Hartford & New Haven | 0.79 | 968,450 |
| San Diego | 0.76 | 1,054,350 |
| Albuquerque | 0.75 | 679,380 |
| Buffalo | 0.72 | 612,110 |
| Phoenix | 0.70 | 1,834,360 |
| Salt Lake City | 0.69 | 897,390 |
| Cleveland | 0.69 | 1,469,190 |
| St. Louis | 0.66 | 1,226,860 |
| Austin | 0.64 | 729,300 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | 0.63 | 1,730,170 |
| New York | 0.63 | 7,442,270 |
| Pittsburgh | 0.63 | 1,173,320 |
| Denver | 0.62 | 1,565,760 |
| Ft. Myers | 0.61 | 506,610 |
| Orlando | 0.60 | 1,472,960 |
| Philadelphia | 0.58 | 2,953,760 |
| Dallas-Ft. Worth | 0.55 | 2,603,680 |
| Sacramento | 0.55 | 1,345,960 |
| San Antonio | 0.53 | 911,680 |
| Providence | 0.50 | 605,930 |
| Miami-Ft. Lauderdale | 0.44 | 1,632,760 |
| Houston | 0.44 | 2,301,230 |
| Boston | 0.42 | 2,423,640 |
| Seattle-Tacoma | 0.40 | 1,802,920 |
| Portland, OR | 0.40 | 1,154,070 |
| Los Angeles | 0.34 | 5,523,800 |
| San Francisco | 0.32 | 2,476,860 |
ALL ESPN NETWORKS
| Louisville | 1.80 |
| Greensboro-High Point | 1.00 |
| Kansas City | 0.90 |
| Raleigh-Durham | 0.90 |
| Knoxville | 0.70 |
| Cincinnati | 0.60 |
| Memphis | 0.60 |
| Richmond | 0.60 |
| Dayton | 0.60 |
| Oklahoma City | 0.60 |
| Columbus, OH | 0.60 |
| Indianapolis | 0.50 |
| Charlotte | 0.50 |
| Norfolk-Portsmth-N. Nws | 0.50 |
| Tulsa | 0.50 |
| Las Vegas | 0.50 |
| Greenville-Sprtnburg-Ash | 0.50 |
| Nashville | 0.40 |
| Birmingham | 0.40 |
| Milwaukee | 0.40 |
| New Orleans | 0.40 |
| Albuquerque | 0.30 |
| Washington, DC | 0.30 |
| Hartford & New Haven | 0.30 |
| Atlanta | 0.30 |
| Baltimore | 0.30 |
| Salt Lake City | 0.30 |
The confrence plays a big part...going from the Big East and competing with power houses to AAC? Disrespectful to Uconn
ReplyDeleteFair point. But shouldn't fans tune into their favorite team no matter who they're playing -- Syracuse or Tulane?
ReplyDeleteTrue die hards may watch every game regardless of opponent, but for the vast majority of fans it was much more entertaining to watch UConn play in the Big East. Let's face it, games against Tulane or East Carolina aren't exactly appointment viewing.
ReplyDeleteonly uno hope courantly:join ATenski pronto for all sports; put michelini's fiasco anywhere, no bod cares at this pt. better solution: promote michelini to exec vp of campus fast food industrials pronto. a bogus sporty sportsmon sporting sport of big lil tenski not needed at this critical time astral projection .. .
ReplyDelete