Chick-fil-A Bowl was most-viewed in its history

More people viewed the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl between South Carolina and Florida State than any other game in its 43-year history.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl led all non-BCS bowl game telecasts on ESPN with a 5.0 TV rating for its matchup of No. 19 USC and No. 23 FSU.

The 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl is now the fifth most-viewed bowl game telecast in ESPN history.

The rating represents the game being viewed in more than 5 million households nationwide. On average, the game was watched by more than 7.4 million viewers and peaked at more than 8.4 million viewers.

“Having such an incredible relationship with ESPN and an unopposed time slot in prime time has really created a national showcase for our game,” said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Bowl president and CEO. “When you add premier national football brands like Florida State and South Carolina, you have all the elements for a ‘must-see TV’ event. We’re blessed to have had such a compelling game and our hats go off to ESPN for their hard work in creating such a powerful broadcast for our bowl.”

Florida State (10-4) defeated South Carolina (9-5) 26-17 in a game that was close throughout. The Chick-fil-A Bowl was also able to notch its 14th consecutive sellout with a crowd of 72,217 in attendance. The Chick-fil-A Bowl’s string of 14 straight sellouts is second in the nation, behind only the Rose Bowl.

“A 5.0 rating is a tremendous accomplishment and I want to thank Gary and the entire Chick-fil-A Bowl team for providing us with a great match-up like Florida State and South Carolina, said Dave Brown, ESPN vice president, programming and acquisitions. “We greatly appreciate the promotional support we receive from Chick-fil-A which dovetails perfectly with our promotional efforts during Capital One Bowl Week to drive Chick-fil-A Bowl viewership.”

The Chick-fil-A Bowl has been telecast by ESPN every year since 1992. Chick-fil-A Bowl games are now four of the top 10 and six of the top 25 most-viewed non-BCS bowl game telecasts in ESPN history.

This story was originally published January 7, 2011 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Chick-fil-A Bowl was most-viewed in its history."