3 ABC Games Top 10M Viewers Each in ESPN’s Record CFB Weekend

ESPN platforms had their most-watched college football Week 1 on record, as big non-conference season openers delivered huge TV ratings.

Three games drew more than 10 million viewers each on ABC: 

• Miami 27, Notre Dame 24: 10.8 million
• Florida State 31, Alabama 17: 10.7 million
• LSU 17, Clemson 10: 10.4 million

ABC’s other game, Tennessee’s 45–26 win over Syracuse, averaged 2.6 million viewers. Overall, the network’s four college football games on Saturday and Sunday averaged 8.6 million viewers, which marks its most-watched opening weekend.

Cumulatively, games across ABC and ESPN networks averaged 4 million viewers, which is also the best college football Week 1 for the Disney-owned platforms. Bill Belichick’s debut outing as North Carolina’s head coach was the fourth-most-watched game on an ESPN platform, drawing more than 6 million viewers.

The strong showing for games on ABC and ESPN comes alongside Fox’s 16.62 million viewers for Ohio State’s 14–7 win over Arch Manning and Texas, the most-watched college football Week 1 game on any channel.

Prime Impact

Colorado had its least-watched season opener since Deion Sanders became head coach ahead of the 2023 season.

ESPN drew 3.7 million viewers for Georgia Tech’s 27–20 victory over the Buffaloes on Friday night. Last year, Colorado–North Dakota State averaged 4.8 million viewers on a Thursday night. In 2023, Fox drew 7.26 million viewers in its Big Noon Saturday game window for Sanders’s first game at Colorado, in which Coach Prime’s squad upset TCU 45–42.