or


[09/05/12 - 02:07 PM]
ABC Saturday Night Football Kicks Off Season with a Winning Night
ESPN spins the numbers for ABC on Saturday, September 1.
[via press release from ESPN]

ABC Saturday Night Football Kicks Off Season with a Winning Night

ESPN led the way Saturday, Sept. 1 with its season-opening college football coverage, highlighted by ABC Saturday Night Football. The telecast - Alabama defeating Michigan 41-14 from Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas - averaged a 4.8 rating, 7,918,000 viewers and 5,452,000 households, making it the night's top show across all networks in viewership and key male demographics.

In addition, three of ESPN's Saturday telecasts averaged a 2.1 rating or better. The network began the day at noon ET with Ohio at Penn State averaging a 2.8 rating, 3,503,000 viewers and 2,733,000 households followed by Bowling Green at Florida at 3:30 p.m. averaging a 2.1 rating, 2,758,000 viewers and 2,048,000 households. The Clemson vs. Auburn Saturday prime time telecast averaged a 2.5 rating, 3,582,000 viewers and 2,415,000 households.

Additional highlights from the opening weekend:

· ESPN's Friday night Boise State at Michigan State matchup was the network's third highest-rated and most-viewed Friday night telecast, averaging a 3.2 rating, 4,194,000 viewers and 3,103,000 households. The 17-13 Michigan State victory ranks behind both games of an ESPN doubleheader on Thanksgiving Friday, November 26, 2010.

· The top game - a 48-29 Oregon victory over Arizona on the Ducks' way to an undefeated regular-season - averaged a 5.3 rating, 7,787,000 viewers and 5,263,000 households.

· The second most-viewed telecast - a one-loss Nevada team defeating then-undefeated Boise State 34-31 in overtime - averaged a 3.9 rating, 5,449,000 viewers and 3,908,000 households.

· ESPN's first game of the 2012 season - a 17-13 South Carolina win over Vanderbilt on Thursday, Aug. 30 - was also the network's second most-viewed Thursday night opening telecast ever. The game, with a 3.0 average rating, 4,129,000 viewers and 2,944,000 households is behind ESPN's 1994 Arizona-George Tech opening telecast, which averaged 4,174,000 viewers. This year's matchup is also the highest-rating for a season-opening telecast since 1998 when ESPN averaged a 3.4 rating for Virginia at Auburn.

· ESPNU averaged 1,491,000 viewers (based on a 1.3 rating and 945,000 households) for its telecast of Tennessee beating NC State 35-21, making it the network's most-viewed college football game ever.





  [september 2012]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
      


· SATURDAY NIGHT COLLEGE FOOTBALL (ABC)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[05/29/26 - 03:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Newsmagazine, Leading "Dateline" in Total Viewers for the 5th Consecutive Broadcast Season
"20/20" improved on the previous season in Total Viewers (+5%/+170,000 - 3.672 million vs. 3.502 million).
[05/29/26 - 03:01 PM]
ABC News Is #1 in Total Viewers Sunday Morning and in Late-Night
"Nightline" posted double-digit gains week to week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.
[05/28/26 - 03:23 PM]
2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Presented by Dunkin' Finishes Strong with Average Audience of 7.4 Million Viewers Across ESPN and ABC
Additionally, Game 4 on ESPN averaged 7.2 million viewers, marking the most-viewed Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 across any network since 2018.
[05/28/26 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Outpaces Competitors with Eight of the Top 25 Series Across All Streaming and Broadcast Originals in Nielsen's All-Series Ranker
CBS has the most top 25 series of any streaming or broadcast competitor and twice as many as its closest broadcast competitor, including six series with 10+ million viewers.
[05/28/26 - 10:31 AM]
FOX Delivers Most-Watched UFL Game Since League Started in 2024
1,593,000 viewers watched as Louisville defeated Dallas 37-23 on Sunday.
[05/28/26 - 10:26 AM]
FOX Scores with 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
6,635,000 viewers watched Felix Rosenqvist edge David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds with a last-lap pass to win the Indy 500 Sunday on FOX.
[05/27/26 - 03:13 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Draws Strong Audience Over Holiday Weekend
2,355,000 viewers tuned in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Dodgers' 11-3 victory over the Brewers in most of the country.
[05/26/26 - 12:03 PM]
"Off Campus" Season 1 Has Reached 36 Million Viewers Worldwide in Its First 12 Days
Off Campus. On everyone's screen.
[05/26/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 18 - In Ruthless Pursuit, "Nemesis" Steals No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Retirement in "The Boroughs" is anything but sleepy as the Duffer Brothers-produced sci-fi series took No. 2 on the list with 5.6 million views.
[05/26/26 - 11:00 AM]
"Dutton Ranch" Is the Biggest Original Series Debut in Paramount+ History
In addition to its record-setting performance on Paramount+, "Dutton Ranch" is also the #1 streaming series according to Nielsen based on average audience for the week of May 11 according to preliminary data.
[05/21/26 - 02:32 PM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 Since 2018
The New York Knicks overtime victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 19 generated an average audience of 7.1 million viewers and peaked with 8.87 million viewers at 10:45 p.m. ET.

[05/21/26 - 02:00 PM]
"Survivor" Historic 50th Season Concludes with Most-Watched Finale Since 2020
The season finale drew an average of 5.78 million viewers, based on Nielsen Preliminary panel only data.
[05/21/26 - 07:01 AM]
NBC Sports' 2026 SuperMotocross Coverage Delivers Viewership Gains and Milestones
The seven races featured on NBC and Peacock averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 468,000 viewers on NBC and Peacock, up 8% vs. 2025.
[05/20/26 - 03:05 PM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver the Most-Watched Western Conference Finals Game 1 Ever for Monday's Spurs-Thunder Double Overtime Thriller
Coverage peaked with 12.0 million viewers from 11:30-11:43 p.m. ET for the second overtime and game's conclusion.
[05/20/26 - 03:04 PM]
ESPN Aired Its Most Viewed 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round of the Current Rights Deal
Collectively all 11 Second Round games, with nine airing on ESPN and two on ABC, delivered 2.2 million viewers, up 76% year-over-year.