or


[09/08/21 - 01:40 PM]
ABC's "Saturday Night Football" and "Sunday Kickoff" Are Two Most-Watched Games of the Week, Multi-Year Viewership Highs in Week 1 as ESPN Platforms Welcome CFB Viewers Home
College football fans flocked to ESPN networks over the six-day stretch, including on the first full CFB Saturday of the season.
[via press release from ESPN]

ABC's Saturday Night Football and Sunday Kickoff are Two Most-Watched Games of the Week, Multi-Year Viewership Highs in Week 1 as ESPN Platforms Welcome CFB Viewers Home

· UGA/Clemson (8.9M viewers) becomes the second-most-viewed Kickoff Saturday game in the past 20 years

· ND/FSU (7.8M viewers) now the second-most-viewed Kickoff Sunday game on record

· 10M+ average viewers watching CFB in primetime across ABC, ESPN & ESPNU on Saturday

· ABC is CFB's most-viewed network in Week 1, up 28% from 2019

· ESPN/ABC win the night on Friday, Saturday and Sunday

ESPN and ABC scored several viewership superlatives in Week 1, with the networks combining to air the top two and three of the top four games in college football's official premiere week, which has been determined now that Nielsen's full reporting is available. More than 10 million viewers were watching college football in the average minute across ABC, ESPN and ESPNU in primetime on Saturday as the sport returned in full force.

College football fans flocked to ESPN networks over the six-day stretch, including on the first full CFB Saturday of the season. From noon to 11 p.m. ET on Saturday, there were at least 7.2 million viewers watching college football content in the average minute across ESPN platforms, including ABC, ESPN and ESPNU, as well as streaming on ESPN3 and ESPN's college networks.

ESPN and ABC were responsible for 68 percent of the viewership on nationally-rated linear networks in Week 1, winning the night among all viewers and all key adult demos across all genres (not just sports) in primetime on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

ABC averaged 6.2 million viewers across its four-game slate over Labor Day Weekend, the network's most-viewed Kickoff Weekend since 2017 and the third best in the past decade. ABC's Kickoff Weekend audience was up 28 percent from 2019 and 21 percent from 2018. ABC was also the most-viewed network of Week 1.

Duke's Mayo Classic Contest Between Georgia, Clemson Leads the Way

The top-five faceoff between Georgia and Clemson averaged 8,863,000 viewers, making the matchup the second-most-viewed Kickoff Saturday game in the past 20 years (Florida State vs. Alabama, 2017). The contest ranks in the top five regular season college football games on ABC the past five years.

Peaking with 9.7 million viewers, the game's audience was up 29 percent from the comparable game (Oregon vs. Auburn, 2019) and 95 percent from the Week 1 Saturday primetime game (Alabama vs. Louisville) in 2018.

Labor Day Sunday Thriller Sees Big Numbers, Overtime Peak

One of the most exciting games of the season thus far, Notre Dame at Florida State averaged 7,751,000 viewers on Sunday night to rank as the second-most-watched game of Week 1. The Fighting Irish-Seminoles showdown, which peaked in overtime with 9.5 million viewers, is the second-most-viewed Opening Week Sunday game on record, trailing only Notre Dame vs. Texas in 2016.

Chick-fil-A Kickoff Saturday Game Goes Down as No. 2 Game of the Day

Saturday's matchup between Alabama and Miami averaged 5,674,000 viewers, the second-most-viewed game of the day on Saturday across all networks and the most-viewed game in that Week 1 timeslot since 2017. The audience peaked with 6.8 million viewers at the end of the first half. Viewership is up 22 percent from the comparable game in 2019 (Duke vs. Alabama) and up 8 percent from the Week 1 Saturday afternoon game of Washington vs. Auburn in 2018.

In-Conference Contests Register ESPN's Most-Viewed Opening Friday in a Decade

Friday's primetime opener of North Carolina at Virginia Tech averaged 2,580,000 viewers, the most-viewed Opening Friday game since 2012 (Boise State vs. Michigan State). The game between the ACC foes preceded a Big Ten battle between Michigan State and Northwestern, which recorded 2,101,000 viewers to help ESPN to its most-viewed Opening Friday in the past decade.

Date Matchup P2+ Viewers Network
Sat, Sep 4 Georgia vs. Clemson 8,863,000 ABC
Sun, Sep 5 Notre Dame at Florida State 7,751,000 ABC
Sat, Sep 4 Alabama vs. Miami 5,674,000 ABC
Mon, Sep 6 Ole Miss vs. Louisville* 2,944,000 ESPN
Fri, Sep 3 North Carolina at Virginia Tech 2,580,000 ESPN
Sat, Sep 4 Oklahoma at Tulane (Norman, Okla.) 2,526,000 ABC

* Based on Nielsen Fast Nationals

College GameDay Built by The Home Depot

ESPN's three-hour College GameDay Built by The Home Depot (9 a.m. - noon) from Romare Bearden Park in Charlotte averaged 1,836,500 viewers, while the final hour (11 a.m. - noon) averaged 2,283,600 viewers.

- 30 -





  [september 2021]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· SATURDAY NIGHT COLLEGE FOOTBALL (ABC)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[02/19/25 - 12:06 PM]
"Shifting Gears" Surges to Three-Week High in Multiplatform Viewing Among Total Viewers
After three days of viewing on linear (2/12/25), the acclaimed comedy starring Tim Allen, was the No. 1 program of the night in both Total Viewers (5.78 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.57 rating).
[02/19/25 - 07:01 AM]
OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network Ratings Increase in 2024 Driven by Growth in Key Series Among African American Women 25-54
Four returning shows saw season-over-season ratings growth with Women 25-54 from prior seasons: "Ready to Love" Season 9 (+8%), "Belle Collective" Season 4 (+8%), "Belle Collective" Season 5 (+36%), and "Love & Marriage Detroit" Season 3 (+4%).

[02/18/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Feb. 10: Romance Sweeps the Top 10 Off Its Feet for Valentine's Day
The Italian getaway "La Dolce Villa" topped the English films list (19.8 million views), hitting the Top 10 in 90 countries, while Amy Schumer's "Kinda Pregnant" followed hot on its heels at No. 2 (13.7 million views).
[02/18/25 - 09:22 AM]
"The White Lotus" Season 3 Premiere Checks in with 2.4 Million Viewers, Up 57% Growth from Previous Season
After 36 hours the Season 3 premiere has doubled the Season 2 premiere episode during the same amount of time, and grew 90% since Sunday night, bringing the domestic audience to 4.6 million cross platform viewers.
[02/18/25 - 06:02 AM]
The CW Network Delivers 1.8 Million Total Viewers for NASCAR Xfinity Series Season Opener
The season opener at Daytona delivered the largest audience for any Xfinity Series race in almost three years, with 1.8 million total viewers, according to Nielsen fast national ratings.
[02/17/25 - 04:03 PM]
"SNL50: The Anniversary Special" Watched by 14.8 Million Viewers and Scored a 2.53 Rating in the 18-49 Demo Across Both NBC and Peacock in Live + Same Day Viewing
It's NBC's most-watched primetime entertainment telecast in both categories in five years (since the 2020 Golden Globe Awards).
[02/17/25 - 11:03 AM]
ABC Scores Significant Tuesday Night Linear Win Over Original Series Network Competition for First Time This Season in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49
Powering Tuesday nights at 9 p.m., "High Potential" continued its remarkable momentum becoming the No. 1 show of the night on broadcast and cable, earning 8.35 million Total Viewers and 0.69 rating in Adults 18-49.
[02/12/25 - 10:43 AM]
ESPN NBA Viewership Update: Luka Doncic's Lakers Debut Delivers 2.01 Million Viewers
The telecast peaked at 2.55 million viewers and won the day among people and males 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54.
[02/12/25 - 10:23 AM]
Puppy Bowl XXI Reaches 12.8 Million Viewers and Was #1 Non-Sports Cable Telecast on Sunday, February 9
Sunday's programming event became the highest-rated Puppy Bowl ever on Discovery, TBS and truTV and Animal Planet's highest-rated in four years.
[02/12/25 - 09:35 AM]
CBS "FBI" Line Up Wins Tuesday Night with #1 Show "FBI"
"FBI" was the #1 show of the night, beating the #2 show of the night by nearly +1 million viewers.

[02/11/25 - 01:15 PM]
FOX "Super Week" Kicks Off, Breaking Records with "The Floor" as Season's #1 Entertainment Series Telecast and New Survival Competition "Extracted" Off to a Wild Start
For six consecutive seasons, FOX has delivered the highest-rated unscripted entertainment series telecast.
[02/11/25 - 12:00 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Feb. 3: "Kinda Pregnant" Delivers, "The Night Agent" Holds Strong in Top 10
Fans also basked in the Southern charm of Season 4 of "Sweet Magnolias," which debuted at No. 4 in English TV (4 million views), and flocked to the Australian limited series "Apple Cider Vinegar" (No. 5 in English TV, 3.8 million views).

[02/11/25 - 11:38 AM]
FOX Sports' Presentation of Super Bowl LIX Delivers Most-Watched Super Bowl of All-Time with 127.7 Million Viewers Across All Platforms
Philadelphia's big win in the bayou peaked at 137.7 million viewers in the second quarter (8:00 PM - 8:15 PM ET), per Nielsen Media Research.
[02/11/25 - 11:01 AM]
"The Day of the Jackal" Becomes Peacock's Most-Watched New Original Drama Series
Viewership of the series in its first 75 days has surpassed that of any other original drama series in the same timeframe.

[02/07/25 - 01:13 PM]
ABC Claims Top 5 Shows Among Adults 18-49 in Cross-Platform Broadcast Series Rankings
Driven by stellar streaming viewership on Hulu and Disney+, three ABC titles more than triple their seven-day linear averages, including "High Potential" (+297%), "Abbott Elementary" (+270%) and "Shifting Gears" (+242%).