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College Football Viewership Down 11% Through September vs. 2025

Television audiences for the opening month of college football are trailing last year's pace by eleven percent. Nielsen figures show that broadcasts across Nielsen-rated networks are averaging 1.7 million viewers through the first four weeks of action.

The standout attraction so far was a thrilling Week Two matchup where Texas overcame a deficit to defeat Ohio State 24-23 on ABC, capturing 14 million viewers and ranking as the highest-rated regular-season game on any ESPN platform in a decade. Meanwhile, the only other broadcast to surpass the 10 million viewer mark was an encounter featuring Ole Miss edging LSU 32-24 on September 19.

By comparison, four different matchups exceeded that 10-million threshold during the opening week alone of the previous season, and a total of 11 contests reached that milestone throughout the duration of 2025. Despite the overall downward trend in game broadcasts, pre-game television coverage is flourishing.

ESPN's College GameDay is averaging 2.83 million viewers through its initial four episodes, marking a five percent increase over the previous season's record-setting average and setting consecutive viewership milestones for its weekly broadcasts.

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