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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Mon, Dec. 31-Tues., Jan. 1) -- WFAA8's Big NYE outdraws all New Year's Day football games

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom
Some people might cringe, but a lot of people watched.

WFAA8's 6th annual Big D NYE presentation from Victory Park Plaza lit up the late night D-FW Nielsen ratings, averaging 419,936 viewers for its 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. running time.

Hosted by weathercaster Pete Delkus and sports anchor Dale Hansen with supporting roles by Gordon Keith, Ron Corning and Amy Vanderoeuf, the sometimes unintentionally comic production has become a big draw in recent years. So much so that no New Year's Day football game could equal its audience.

Coming closest was ESPN's Rose Bowl between Wisconsin and Stanford. It averaged 330,442 viewers locally in edging ABC's runner-up Georgia-Nebraska Capital One Bowl (316,673 viewers).

ESPN's prime-time Orange Bowl game -- Florida State and Northern Illinois -- had 268,484 viewers while the network's South Carolina-Michigan Outback Bowl drew 123,916. ESPN2's Northwestern-Mississippi State Gator Bowl lagged far behind with 20,653 viewers. Ratings for ESPNU's lopsided Oklahoma State-Purdue Heart of Dallas Bowl were not available, but likely didn't amount to much on the network's fourth-tier channel.
unclebarky@verizon.net