College Football Viewership Down 11% Through September vs. 2025
FBS game broadcasts are averaging 1.7 million viewers.
College football network ratings saw an 11% decline through the first month of the season, according to Nielsen's audience data. The average number of viewers per broadcast across all Nielsen-rated networks dropped to 1.7 million, marking a significant decrease from the 2025 season's first four weeks. Texas's thrilling 24-23 comeback victory over Ohio State in Week 2 took the crown as the most-watched game, drawing 14 million viewers on ABC and becoming the most-watched regular-season matchup on an ESPN platform in over a decade.
Only one other game surpassed the 10-million-viewer mark: Ole Miss's 32-24 win over LSU in Lane Kiffin's return to Oxford on September 19. Last season, four games in Week 1 alone topped 10 million viewers, with the opening weekend record of 16.6 million on Fox for Texas-OHIO State in Columbus, featuring Arch Manning's biggest start to date.
This season, 11 regular-season games reached the 10-million-viewer threshold. The 10 most-watched games of the 2025 season through September are as follows: Ohio State-Texas with 14 million viewers (ABC), LSU-Ole Miss at 10.9 million (ABC), Texas-Tennessee with 9.7 million (ABC), Ole Miss-Florida with 8.3 million (ABC), Oklahoma-Michigan with 8.2 million (Fox), Wisconsin-Notre Dame with 8.1 million (NBC), Alabama-Kentucky with 7.3 million (ABC), Florida State-Alabama with 7 million (ABC), Clemson-LSU with 5.8 million (ABC), and Texas A&M-LSU with 5.7 million (ABC).
Notably, LSU's impressive 51-10 blowout win over Clemson garnered 5.8 million viewers, including those affected by a two-hour rain delay at kickoff. As the SEC and Big Ten gear up for their conference schedules on ABC and Fox, respectively, the next two months could potentially bring viewership gains. NBC will air the highly anticipated Miami vs. Notre Dame matchup on November 7, a game that drew 10.8 million viewers on ABC last year in Week 1.
ESPN's College GameDay averaged 2.83 million viewers through the first four weeks, a 5% increase from the 2025 season's average of 2.7 million viewers. Both GameDay's most-watched episodes in their respective weeks occurred during weeks 2 and 4.
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