Birmingham is once again sitting on top of the college football world - at least in the way Nielsen measures it.
The company best known for television ratings released a new look at local college football fandom this week, and the Alabama city came out No. 1 in the Nielsen Scarborough Local College Football Fandom Index. The Magic City has long been a heavyweight in college football TV ratings, and this report says its grip on the sport shows up in several other ways too.
Nielsen said the index is built from eight separate measures of fan engagement: apparel purchases, general interest levels, live-event attendance, betting intent, social media engagement, radio listenership, streaming habits, and linear TV viewership. The report noted that the list is led by “mid-size markets near flagship programs, where few competing professional sports franchises exist to split local attention.”
For Birmingham, the report put the point bluntly: “Birmingham’s #1 finish (score: 230) underscores the intensity of fandom within the SEC. The Alabama/Auburn market leads in interest and event attendance, while ranking in the top four for apparel, social media, radio, streaming, and TV viewing.”
Birmingham finished well ahead of No. 2 Des Moines/Ames, Iowa, which scored 212. Columbus, Ohio came in third at 205, followed by Omaha, Neb. at 193 and Knoxville, Tenn. at 188.
The rest of the top 20 was packed with markets tied closely to major college football programs, especially in and around the SEC. Chattanooga checked in at No.
7, New Orleans at No. 8, Atlanta at No.
9, Memphis at No. 10, Austin at No.
12, Cincinnati at No. 13, Lexington, Ky. at No.
14, Jacksonville, Fla. at No. 16, Tulsa at No.
17, Little Rock/Pine Bluff, Ark. at No. 19 and Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville/Anderson, S.C. /N.C. tied for No.
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