College Football Viewership Trends and Statistics

College football experienced a record-breaking year in terms of viewership, solidifying its position as the second most popular sport in the United States, trailing only the NFL. This surge in viewership can be attributed to several factors, including changes in out-of-home and Big Data viewership measurements.

Overall Viewership Growth

In terms of total time spent, there were over 179 billion minutes of viewing across all Nielsen-rated networks, up 9% over last year and also another record high for the sport.

Network Performance

Several television networks experienced significant gains in college football viewership:

ESPN Networks: ESPN networks had the company’s best season since 2011, averaging 2.2 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.
- ABC: ABC alone averaged a sport-high 6.9 million viewers this season, fueled by the SEC package, and good enough for the broadcast TV network’s third-best season on record. ABC was up 19% over 46 games.
- ESPN: Meanwhile, ESPN’s average of 1.8 million was up 14%.
- ESPN2: ESPN2 was up 18%.
- ESPNU: ESPNU up 23%.
- The SEC, ACC, Big 12, American, Conference USA and Sun Belt all saw gains on ESPN networks.
Fox: Fox averaged 3.4 million viewers, up 12%. The network had its best Friday night audience on record at 2.3 million, up 6%. The network also averaged 6.3 million for the “Big Noon Saturday” window, its second-best mark yet and up 11% from 2024. Leading that window were the two most-watched games for the CFB regular season in Ohio State-Michigan and Ohio State-Texas. Meanwhile, FS1 games averaged 465,000 viewers, up 12%.
NBC: NBC averaged 3.2 million viewers for Big Ten and Notre Dame games, down 2%. The six Fighting Irish games averaged 3.6 million, up 35%, while the 15 Big Ten games averaged 3.1 million, down from 3.5 million last season.
CBS: CBS drew 3.1 million viewers for its games, which were primarily Big Ten matchups (15), but included six other games from service academies and the Mountain West. That figure was down 3%. Looking just at the Big Ten, CBS was up 2% with 3.7 million viewers.
Big Ten Network: Big Ten Network averaged 699,000 viewers this season for its second-best season ever, behind only 2018. Nine BTN games drew over 1 million viewers, which was a conference record.
The CW: The CW finished with 456,000 viewers for its combo of ACC and Pac-12 games, up 10%. ACC games alone were up 26%. The CW in 2025 drew its five best regular-season games yet, led by Baylor-SMU in September (1.13 million).
TNT Sports: TNT Sports’ debut Big 12 season averaged 337,000 viewers over 13 games, with the cable networks showing month-over-month gains. Once TNT got to intra-conference games, the audience for those contests was up 87% from early nonconference matchups.

Most-Watched Teams

Alabama was the most-watched team this season, averaging around 8.5 million viewers, per Nielsen. That was followed by Texas (7.5 million), Georgia (7.5 million), Ohio State (6.6 million) and Oklahoma (6.5 million). Florida State was the most-watched team outside the SEC and Big Ten with 4.1 million (No. 14 overall).

Conference Viewership

ACC: ACC games alone across ESPN networks averaged 2.5 million viewers, up 70%.

Notable Games

Several games stood out regarding high viewership numbers:

CFP National Championship: Indiana vs. Miami: Indiana’s first-ever national championship delivered in a big way for ESPN, averaging 30.1 million viewers across the family of networks. At 30.1 million viewers on average, it’s the second-most watched CFP title game on record behind only Ohio State vs. Oregon in 2015.
Rose Bowl (CFP quarterfinal): Indiana vs. Alabama: The Rose Bowl drew historic viewership as Indiana began its dominant run through the College Football Playoff, flying past Alabama 38-3.
Big Ten Championship: Indiana vs. Ohio State: An average of 18.3 million people tuned to FOX for the Big Ten Championship as Indiana took down Ohio State at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Peach Bowl (CFP Semifinal): Oregon vs. Indiana: Friday’s CFB Playoff Semifinal at the CFA Peach Bowl between Oregon and Indiana delivered 18M viewers. The Peach Bowl led the College Football Playoff semifinals despite a slight dip in TV ratings from 2024-25.
SEC Championship: Georgia vs. Alabama: In the SEC Championship, Georgia dominated Alabama en route to a 28-7 victory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Ohio State vs. Texas: One of the most anticipated games of the season lived up to the billing as Ohio State took down Texas in a nail-biter in Columbus.
Sugar Bowl (CFP quarterfinal): Ole Miss vs. Georgia: In the Sugar Bowl, Ole Miss fought off Georgia as an average of 18.7 million viewers watched - up 18% year-over-year.

Other notable games included:

Cotton Bowl (CFP quarterfinal): Miami vs.
Orange Bowl (CFP quarterfinal): Oregon vs.
Fiesta Bowl, CFP semifinal: Miami vs.
CFP First Round: Alabama at Oklahoma.
CFP First Round: Miami at Texas A&M.
Texas vs. Texas A&M.
Georgia vs. Tennessee.
Alabama vs. Auburn.
Notre Dame vs. Miami.
Alabama vs. Florida State.
Oklahoma vs. Alabama.
LSU vs. Clemson.

Regular Season Trends

Through the regular season, college football viewership saw a 4% increase year-over-year, and the CFP saw a 16% uptick.
The SEC nearly doubled the Big Ten in regular season TV viewership according to data from the Wall Street Journal. Their report indicated an average SEC game viewership of 4.9 million, while the Big Ten's totals came in at 2.8 million.

Factors Influencing Viewership

Several factors contribute to the fluctuations and trends in college football viewership:

Conference Affiliations and Television Deals: The SEC's television deal with ESPN and its multiple networks likely ensures more consistent viewership compared to the Big Ten's agreement with FOX, FS1, NBC, CBS, and Paramount.
Team Popularity and Performance: Teams with strong national followings and consistent winning records, such as Alabama, Ohio State, and Texas, tend to draw higher viewership numbers.
Game Significance: Championship games, rivalry matchups, and College Football Playoff games generate significant interest and higher viewership.
Scheduling and Time Slots: The timing and scheduling of games can impact viewership, with primetime slots and weekend games generally attracting larger audiences.
Emerging Dynasties: With Indiana threatening to become something near a dynasty, it's possible that the Big Ten steps up on television like it has on the field.

Measurement Methodology

All figures are based on Nielsen’s new “Big Data + Panel” measurement unless otherwise noted. As of September 1, all Nielsen figures are based on “Big Data + Panel” methodology, which combines the existing Nielsen panel with data from smart TVs and set-top boxes, plus first-party streaming data provided by participating network partners. All Nielsen figures include streaming viewership through “virtual MVPDs” (ex. Yes, all Nielsen figures cited here include same-day DVR. As of August 31, 2020, all Nielsen figures include out-of-home viewing.

Comparison Between Conferences

The SEC nearly doubled the Big Ten in regular season TV viewership according to data from the Wall Street Journal. Their report indicated an average SEC game viewership of 4.9 million, while the Big Ten's totals came in at 2.8 million. There are a couple of easy explanations that help to explain the gap. The SEC's television deal is with ESPN and the multitude of ESPN networks likely ensure a more consistent viewership than the Big Ten's agreement. The conference has games broadcast with FOX, FS1, NBC, CBS, and Paramount. While the network offer and facilitiate top viewership for the biggest games of the week, some of the lesser games are limited. Along those lines, the Big Ten is a bigger conference than the SEC and thus likely accrues more games that are perhaps not exactly must-see experiences. Whle Ohio State/Michigan or Penn State/Oregon can draw massive audiences, but a Purdue/Maryland matchup is probably less appealing than any of the SEC's offerings. Meanwhile, the SEC does have more powerhouse schools with massive audiences. The Big Ten's historic quatrain of Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, and Penn State all draw good TV viewership, but the SEC boasts eight of the ten most watched teams in the regular season. Only Ohio State and Michigan joined that list of the top ten, with Auburn in a losing season drawing more viewers than Michigan. Alabama also drew almost a million more viewers per week than the second-ranked Texas team. But regardless of the reasoning, the Big Ten's trio of CFP titles still haven't lead to eclipsing the SEC in viewership.

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