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
[04/10/25 - 09:45 AM]
Paramount+'s New Hit "MobLand" Surges with 8.8 Million Global Viewers; Biggest Series Launch Ever on the Service Up +298% from Premiere Day
The new global crime series premiered Sunday, March 30, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia and will be coming to other P+ international markets soon.
[04/09/25 - 11:31 AM]
ESPN Wraps Up Successful 2024-25 Women's College Basketball Campaign
The national title bout between No. 2 UConn and No. 1 South Carolina scored 8.6 million viewers, the third most-viewed women's college basketball championship game on ESPN platforms and up 76% from the last time the teams played for the title in 2022.
[04/08/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of March 31: "Adolescence" Leads Top 10 Charts Again, Jumps to No. 4 on Most Popular
Documentary series "Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer," from two-time Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning director Liz Garbus, also made a strong debut, arriving at No. 2 on the English TV list with 13 million views in its first week.
[04/07/25 - 02:20 PM]
ABC Scores Third Most-Watched NCAA Women's Championship Ever on ESPN Platforms
The telecast averaged 8.5 million viewers and peaked at 9.8 million viewers.
[04/07/25 - 11:56 AM]
"The White Lotus" Finale Episode Draws 6.2 Million U.S. Sunday Night Viewers, Breaking Viewership Records for Third Consecutive Week
Sunday's season finale episode performed an astounding 51% higher than the Season 2 finale (4.1 million U.S. viewers).

[04/04/25 - 07:01 AM]
Paramount+'s New Series "MobLand" Breaks Record as Biggest Global Series Premiere Ever with 2.2 Million Global Viewers on Premiere Day
"'MobLand' is a runaway success thanks to the visionary work of Guy, Jez, Ronan and David Glasser and brought to life by the exceptional Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren who transport us into a world audiences clearly cannot get enough of," said Chris McCarthy.
[04/02/25 - 10:49 AM]
"The Rookie" Shoots to Multiplatform Season Highs in Both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49
On linear, "The Rookie" was the No. 1 program of the night among Adults 18-49 (0.48 - tied), and helped propel ABC to a win the night in both Total Viewers (4.68 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.39 rating).

[04/01/25 - 03:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers and Adults 25-54 vs. CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers"
"Nightline" saw double-digit increases on the previous week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.
[04/01/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of March 24: "Adolescence" Drives the Conversation with Another Week at No. 1
Plus, fans were determined to crack the case in "The Residence," the Uzo Aduba-starring whodunit, which held strong at No. 2 in English TV (8.8 million views).
[04/01/25 - 10:30 AM]
10 CBS Series Deliver 10 Million or More Viewers in Live+35 Multiplatform Viewing
Three other series generated nearly 8 million or more viewers with 35 days of multiplatform viewership.
[03/31/25 - 11:03 AM]
"When Calls the Heart" Wraps Season 12 as #1 Most-Watched Program on Entertainment Cable This Year To-Date
"'When Calls the Heart' delivers the charm, warmth, and community of Hallmark's signature storytelling, and we're pleased that the series continues to drive stellar ratings after 12 seasons and counting," said Samantha DiPippo.
[03/28/25 - 02:26 PM]
Universal Pictures' Global Cinematic Event "Wicked" Debuts as Streaming's #1 Film
Per preliminary Nielsen data, "Wicked" is the #1 film across all of streaming with 882 million minutes viewed for the week of March 17-23.

[03/28/25 - 02:22 PM]
ESPN's Exclusive Coverage of Milwaukee Brewers vs. New York Yankees Game on March 27 Generated Largest National Opening Day Audience in Seven Years
The Brewers vs. Yankees game averaged 1.93 million viewers, peaking with 2.23 million viewers.
[03/27/25 - 11:00 AM]
"Survivor" Hits Broadcast and Live Streaming Season Highs
The telecast averaged 4.50 million broadcast viewers up +7% from its season-to-date average, and up +13% from its season-to-date average live streaming on Paramount+.
[03/25/25 - 03:24 PM]
ESPN Platforms Scores Second Most-Watched First and Second Rounds of the NCAA Women's Tournament on Record
Through two rounds, the 2025 Women's Division I Basketball Tournament is averaging 602,000 viewers, the second-highest audience through this point since 2009.