College football surges on Top 200 most-watched telecasts list

Jeff Hauser

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College football surges on Top 200 most-watched telecasts list image

College football reached a new viewership milestone in 2025, setting a record with eight games landing in the top 100 most-watched telecasts of the year, according to Sports Business Journal via Nielsen figures for the year. 

Sports overall continued to dominate television, accounting for 96 of the top 100 telecasts and 181 of the top 200, or 90.5 percent. That figure dipped slightly from 2024, when the Paris Olympics boosted sports’ footprint, but still showed a boost for live events as appointment viewing. The NFL led the way with 136 appearances in the top 200, including YouTube’s Brazil game, the platform’s first entry on the list.

However, College football set the new mark among non-NFL properties.

The expanded College Football Playoff helped the sport place a record eight games in the top 100 and 25 total in the top 200. Five of those eight involved Ohio State, including the CFP national championship against Notre Dame and marquee matchups with Oregon, Texas, and rival Michigan. Other CFP games featured Miami, Indiana, Penn State and Arizona State.

While the NBA Finals and World Series both rebounded without Olympic or election-year competition, the lone sports outlier in the top 100 was the Kentucky Derby. No women’s sports or soccer events reached the top 200.

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Contributing Writer