Notre Dame – Duke Scored Ratings Win for NBC
Notre Dame’s first game of 2020 was a win for the Irish in the ACC Standings and NBC in the ratings. On Tuesday, the network announced that ratings for Notre Dame’s 27-13 victory over Duke were the highest-rated home-opener for the Irish in 14 years, the highest-rated game in two seasons for the network, and the most watch game of the weekend across all networks.
Penn State’s first visit to Notre Dame since the 1992 Snow Bowl in 2006 was the last time a Notre Dame home-opener had such ratings. Since then, Notre Dame’s had the following opponents before hosting Duke to start the 2020 season.
- 2007: Georgia Tech
- 2008: San Diego State
- 2009: Nevada
- 2010: Purdue
- 2011: South Florida
- 2012: Purdue
- 2013: Michigan State
- 2014: Michigan
- 2015: Texas
- 2016: Nevada
- 2017: Temple
- 2018: Michigan
- 2019: New Mexico
Notre Dame and NBC benefited from a lack of competition to score those ratings. The Big 10 and Pac 12 were both still sitting out the fall season as of last weekend, and the SEC doesn’t start its season until the weekend of September 26.
NBC will have to count on cable subscribers for another Notre Dame ratings win this weekend with the US Open and Premier League soccer conflicts pushing Notre Dame’s contest with South Florida to USA Network.
A lackluster slate of games this weekend could still help the Irish score another ratings win during the afternoon time slot, but #17 Miami vs. #18 Louisville in primetime on ABC should be the most watch game of the weekend.
It will be interesting to see how the numbers hold up for Notre Dame ratings-wise once the SEC starts their season in two weeks and if/when the Big 10 returns to play as has been speculated.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
This goes completely against the “boycott” narrative.