Rose Bowl a ratings bonanza for ABC

The broadcast of Wednesday night's victory by Texas over Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl scored a 21.7 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, representing nearly 24 million viewers and making it the most watched bowl game since 1987's Fiesta Bowl.

"It was simply outstanding," said Dave Nagle, a spokesman for ABC Sports and ESPN. "The game certainly lived up to its advanced billing."

The game scored more viewers than any ABC broadcast since May 2000, excluding the Super Bowl and Academy Awards.

Despite a dramatic finish, ratings were slightly lower toward the game's end on the East Coast because it was after 12:30 a.m. But that was counteracted by huge ratings out west and in Texas. Los Angeles reported a 35.4 rating, representing 52 percent of all the households in the city which were watching television at the time. In Austin, the local rating was a whopping 47.7 rating. About half of all television watchers in Dallas and Houston tuned to the game as well.

--Tim Lemke