BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- College football's average 2011-12 bowl rating fell to a new low in the 14-year history of the Bowl Championship Series.

Viewership was down 8 percent from last year and dropped below 2007 for the lowest average rating since the controversial BCS began, according to an analysis by The Birmingham News of Nielsen Media Research data. The average rating declined for the second straight year and has dropped 37 percent since the BCS-era high of 1998, when there were 13 fewer bowls.

Fewer TV viewers coincided with the average bowl attendance dipping below 51,000 for the first time since 1979. BCS leaders this week began discussing the future of the postseason format, including the possibility of a four-team playoff, which NCAA President Mark Emmert said Thursday he would support as long as the field doesn't grow.

ESPN's broadcasts of the five BCS bowls dropped 6 percent to an average 8.9 rating -- meaning 8.9 percent of U.S. television households were watching. Alabama-LSU produced a 14.0 rating by Nielsen, the third-lowest rated BCS Championship Game ever, and the Orange Bowl became the least-watched BCS game in the BCS era.

ESPN said the BCS Championship Game was the second-most watched program in cable history and was seen in 16.2 percent of all households with ESPN. Nielsen ratings count all homes with a TV. When the BCS moved to ESPN last year, the switch cut off about 15 million homes that don't get cable or satellite.

Unlike broadcast networks, whose model is based on advertising revenue, cable networks have dual revenue streams from advertising and subscription fees with cable and satellite operators. Still, many of ESPN's bowls took ratings hits. Twenty-one of 34 bowls counted by Nielsen attracted fewer viewers than a year ago, including 11 that plummeted by 20 percent or more. Nielsen does not have data for the TicketCity Bowl because it airs on ESPNU.

Auburn's rout of Virginia at the Chick-fil-A Bowl drew a 3.6 rating, down 17 percent from South Carolina-Florida State a year ago. It was the lowest-rated Chick-fil-A Bowl since LSU-Georgia Tech in 2008 had a 3.4.

Birmingham's BBVA Compass Bowl drew its fewest viewers in the game's six-year history with a 1.5 rating for Pittsburgh-SMU. That's down 32 percent from a year ago and surpassed the old low of 1.6 for South Carolina-Connecticut in the 2009 season.

Six of the seven most-watched bowl games this season saw their viewership drop. Among those, only the Fiesta Bowl with Stanford-Oklahoma State experienced an uptick, enjoying a 56-percent increase, marking the largest gain of any bowl from a year ago.

Another big winner was the Alamo Bowl, which jumped from 15th-most watched bowl to eighth. Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III and the highest-scoring bowl game ever helped the Alamo enjoy a 55-percent increase in viewers.

The Champs Sports Bowl had the same percentage improvement with Florida State-Notre Dame. However, the Champs Sports rating was still considerably lower than it was in 2008 and 2009.

Fans tuned out more this season despite more competitive bowls with higher scoring. Eighteen of the 35 games were decided by a touchdown or less. The average margin of victory was 11.2 points, down considerably from 15.3 points last year, which was the most uncompetitive bowl season since 1997.

One factor that might have worked against higher ratings this year was that New Year's Day games moved to Jan. 2, a work day for some, to avoid the NFL. For instance, the Rose Bowl dipped 10 percent for Oregon's 45-38 victory over Wisconsin from TCU's 21-19 win over Wisconsin a year earlier. Then again, last year's Rose Bowl win assured TCU would be one of only two undefeated teams in the country.

As usual, the SEC produced the highest average bowl rating this season, followed in order by the Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and Big East. After West Virginia's rating from the Orange Bowl with a built-in BCS audience, the Big East's next highest-rated bowl -- Louisville-N.C. State at the Belk Bowl -- ranked 18th.

E-mail: jsolomon@bhamnews.com

Twitter: twitter.com/jonsol