NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL ON NBC 2018 SEASON IS NETWORK'S MOST-WATCHED IN SIX YEARS

2018 Notre Dame Football on NBC Averages 3.491 Million Viewers, Up 40% vs. 2017 Season

Season-Opener vs. Michigan is NBC's Most-Watched Notre Dame Game in 13 Years

NBC Sports Digital Delivers Most-Streamed Notre Dame Football Season On Record

STAMFORD, Conn. - November 21, 2018 - NBC Sports' presentation of the 2018 Notre Dame Football on NBC season was the network's most-watched season in six years, according to data provided by The Nielsen Company and Adobe Analytics.

For seven games, the 2018 Notre Dame Football on NBC season averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 3.491 million viewers, up 40% vs. seven games for NBC/NBCSN in 2017 (2.495 million), and marks the best viewership since the 2012 season (4.367 million), when Notre Dame reached the National Championship Game.

NBC Sports kicked off the 2018 college football season with the most-watched Notre Dame Football on NBC broadcast in 13 years, when the Fighting Irish defeated the Michigan Wolverines on the Saturday night of Labor Day weekend, 24-17, to produce a TAD of 7.195 million viewers.

Overall, NBC Sports saw marked viewership gains across both its primetime (3 games) and afternoon (4 games) coverage in 2018. NBC Sports' 2018 Notre Dame primetime coverage produced a TAD of 4.674 million viewers, up 30% vs. 2017 (3.609 million; 2 games), while its 2018 Notre Dame afternoon coverage produced a TAD of 2.586 million viewers, up 28% vs. 2017 (2.025 million; 5 games).

Locally, Indianapolis led all metered markets with a 7.8 HH rating across NBC Sports' seven Notre Dame Football on NBC telecasts. Following are the Top 10 markets from the 2018 season.

Rank Metered Market Rating
1 Indianapolis 7.8
2 Columbus 5.0
3 Ft. Myers 4.5
4 Dayton 4.4
5 Cincinnati 3.9
6 Detroit 3.8
6 Pittsburgh 3.8
8 Chicago 3.7
9 West Palm Beach 3.4
9 Buffalo 3.4
9 Norfolk 3.4

Digitally, 2018 marked NBC Sports' most-streamed Notre Dame season on record in live minutes (53.4 million) and uniques (768K), up 54% and 52%, respectively, vs. the 2017 season (34.7 million; 504K uniques).