The college football season entered Week 2 trying to keep up momentum from a record-setting opening weekend. ESPN and ABC once again set the tone across the landscape, delivering the two most-watched games in primetime and mid-afternoon windows.
The matchup between Oklahoma and Michigan lived up to its billing. John Mateer and the Sooners knocked off the Wolverines in Norman and the quarterback’s dual-threat performance was a boom. The broadcast averaged 9.7 million viewers on ABC, marking the most-watched game of the week and the fifth-largest audience of the season. It also gave ESPN its second straight week leading the ratings race with a primetime heavyweight.
Earlier in the day, Ole Miss and Kentucky fueled another ratings victory for ABC. The SEC opener drew 4.8 million viewers in the traditional 3:30 p.m. ET slot. Combined with Oklahoma-Michigan and Texas-San Jose State (3.7 million), ESPN and ABC accounted for nearly 19 million viewers between their top three broadcasts.
FOX made its presence felt during the Noon window with Iowa State’s win over Iowa, averaging 4.3 million viewers. The rivalry was followed by Deion Sanders and Colorado remained a national draw, as even a non-conference meeting with Delaware reached 2.7 million viewers on the network.
Through two weeks, college football viewership is up more than 25% year-over-year, an early sign of sustained momentum. As Week 3 quickly approaches, ranked matchups across ESPN, NBC, and the CW will be interesting to see who comes out on top next week.
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