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The Rose Bowl Game Generates Overnight Rating of 9/4 on ESPN

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The ROSE BOWL GAME Presented by Northwestern Mutual between USC and Penn State (January 2 at 5 p.m. ET) generated an overnight rating of 9.4 on ESPN and streaming added an additional average minute audience of 300,000 viewers with 1,103,000 unique viewers watching a total of 75,989,000 minutes, making it by far the best overnight and most-streamed non-semifinal New Year's Six game ever (12 games in three years).

The overnight for the instant-classic was up 19% from last year's ROSE BOWL GAME (Stanford vs. Iowa) which was played on its traditional January 1 date (5 p.m. on ESPN), while the streaming audience was up 68%, 64%, and 102%, respectively, in average minute audience, unique viewers and total minutes watched.

Additional Rose Bowl Highlights:

  • Last Two Minutes of Game Action Peaks Audience: The game peaked at a 12.4 overnight during the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, which included USC's game-winning field goal (9:15 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.).
  • Philadelphia Sets Local Record: The City of Brotherly Love earned a 16.7 rating, the highest ever for a bowl game on ESPN (including championship games).
  • Los Angeles and Pittsburgh Draw Big Overnights: L.A. earned a 14.9 overnight and Pittsburgh a 17.0 overnight, the second-highest local market rating for a bowl game on ESPN for both cities (including championship games).
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