or


[12/02/20 - 12:05 PM]
College Football Catapults Viewership Across ESPN Networks to Register Record Thanksgiving Weekend
ESPN spins the numbers for Friday, November 27 and Saturday, November 28.
[via press release from ESPN]

College Football Catapults Viewership across ESPN Networks to Register Record Thanksgiving Weekend

· Iowa State-Texas and Notre Dame-UNC Average 4,806,000 Viewers, Most-Viewed Thanksgiving Friday Doubleheader on ABC since 2005

· Top College GameDay Audience of the Season

· Fuller's Kick Fields Top Stats Across College Football Digital and Social

ESPN viewers feasted on college football throughout Thanksgiving, with six of the top seven games and eight of the top 10 matchups airing on ESPN networks over the holiday weekend. ABC and ESPN aired their most-viewed Thanksgiving Weekend slate of games since 2017 and 2015, respectively.

Friday's ABC doubleheader (Iowa State-Texas and Notre Dame-UNC) averaged 4,806,000 viewers, the most-viewed Thanksgiving Friday doubleheader on ABC since 2005. Notre Dame-UNC averaged 6,089,000 viewers, the best Friday game on ABC since 2015 (Iowa-Nebraska) and the second-best Friday game in 15 years.

The ACC showdown between the Fighting Irish and the Tar Heels goes down as the best weekday game across ESPN networks since 2016, when Ole Miss and FSU matched up on Labor Day, and was the most-viewed telecast of the day across all networks and genres among males, females and adults, 18-49.

Top Games and Year-Over-Year Highs Highlight Thanksgiving Weekend

ABC's five Thanksgiving games averaged 3,730,000 viewers, up 23 percent year-over-year and registering the network's most-viewed Thanksgiving slate since 2017. On ESPN, an average of 2,587,000 viewers tuned in for its five Thanksgiving Weekend matchups, up 56 percent year-over-year from the seven-game schedule in 2019 and giving ESPN its top Thanksgiving Weekend since 2015.

Oregon-Oregon State averaged 2,837,000 viewers on ESPN Friday night, the second-most viewed Thanksgiving Friday game on ESPN since 2015 (Oklahoma-West Virginia, 2018). It was also up 60 percent year-over-year from the comparable game in 2019 (USF-UCF).

ESPN saw all three of its Saturday showdowns surpass 2.5 million viewers, notching its second-best Saturday of the season.

LSU-Texas A&M averaged 4,154,000 viewers, up 39 percent from the same matchup last year in the same Thanksgiving Saturday timeslot. The game helped ESPN win the night as the most-viewed network in primetime among all viewers and all key male and adult demos. The College Station contest also ranks as ESPN's third-most viewed game this season.

Overall, six of the top seven games and eight of the top 10 matchups aired on ESPN networks over the holiday weekend:

Rank Game Viewership Network
1 Auburn at Alabama 6,656,000 CBS
2 Notre Dame at UNC 6,089,000 ABC
3 LSU at Texas A&M 4,154,000 ESPN
4 Penn State at Michigan 4,093,000 ABC
5 Iowa State at Texas 3,577,000 ABC
6 Pittsburgh at Clemson 3,084,000 ABC/ESPNU
7 Oregon at Oregon State 2,837,000 ESPN
8 Nebraska at Iowa 2,712,000 FOX
9 Northwestern at Michigan State 2,549,000 ESPN
10 Kentucky at Florida 2,511,000 ESPN

College GameDay Tallies Its Biggest Audience of the Season

Saturday's College GameDay Built by The Home Depot averaged 1,569,000 viewers, making the show's visit to Tuscaloosa ahead of the Iron Bowl the most-viewed show of the season. The three-hour pregame show averaged 2,085,000 viewers in the last hour (11 a.m. - noon).

Fuller Kicks into Top Spot across ESPN Social and Digital

Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller was the top topic of conversation over Thanksgiving week, kicking her way into leading ESPN's social and digital coverage on Saturday. In addition to trending in the top two on Twitter for much of Saturday's games, the SEC champion goalkeeper's kick was the top video clip across ESPN digital last week and was ESPN digital's second-ranked college football video clip and story since the start of the 2020 season. Fuller's historic moment helped Saturday rank as the top day for CFB video starts, excluding streaming, in 2020.

In addition, SEC Network recorded its most-viewed Tweet and most-liked Instagram post in network history with Fuller's second half kickoff. #PlayLikeAGirl, indeed.

- 30 -





  [december 2020]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· SATURDAY NIGHT COLLEGE FOOTBALL (ABC)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/22/25 - 08:07 AM]
ESPN College Football on ABC Delivers Top Three Games Across All Networks for Saturday, Oct. 18 - Off to Best Start Since '09
Coverage of Ole Miss at Georgia averaged 9.8 million viewers.
[10/22/25 - 08:03 AM]
FOX NFL's America's Game of the Week Delivers 25,630,000 Average Viewers for Commanders-Cowboys
Season-to-date, the NFL on FOX is off to its best start to the season since 2014, averaging 19,646,000 viewers and up +4% over last year's season-to-date average.
[10/22/25 - 07:44 AM]
"9-1-1: Nashville" Debuts with Over 12 Million Total Audience to Date
The star-studded, high-octane first-responder drama delivered 7.80 million Total Viewers and 1.51 rating among Adults 18-49, excluding encores.
[10/22/25 - 06:21 AM]
ABC's Telecast of Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix Draws Event's Largest TV Audience on Record
Viewership peaked at 1.6 million between 4:15-4:30 p.m. as Max Verstappen drove to victory, further tightening up the battle for the F1 driver's championship with only five races left in the season.
[10/21/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of October 13: "The Woman in Cabin 10" Sails Smoothly to No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
In the final stretch to Halloween, those lured in by the story of the OG horror villain put "Monster: The Ed Gein Story" at No. 1 on the English TV list with 9.5 million views.
[10/17/25 - 01:16 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Hits Season Highs with Best Audience Performance Since July
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 139 consecutive weeks across all key measures.
[10/17/25 - 10:38 AM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues Historic Hot Streak - Rising for Fourth Straight Week Since Premiere with 6 Million Total Viewers
Plus: "High Potential" dominated the 10 p.m. hour with 4.15 million Total Viewers and a 0.33 rating among Adults 18-49.
[10/16/25 - 06:01 AM]
ESPN's Monumental 2025 WNBA Season Sets New Viewership Records
Across all networks, the 2025 WNBA Postseason was the most-viewed since 1999.
[10/15/25 - 04:02 PM]
"20/20" Is Friday's No. 1 Program on Broadcast TV
"20/20" increased its lead week to week over "Dateline" in Total Viewers to post its largest of the season.
[10/15/25 - 04:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49, Leading NBC in All Key Demos for the 3rd Straight Week
"Nightline" saw double-digit gains in the year-ago week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.
[10/14/25 - 03:06 PM]
ESPN Records the Most-Watched WNBA Postseason Ever Across Its Networks
Across 24 games, the '25 WNBA postseason averaged 1.2 million viewers, up 5% from last year.
[10/14/25 - 03:03 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Delivers Most-Watched West Coast Episode Ever; ESPN College Football on ABC Scores Top Three Programs Across All Networks and Content for Saturday, Oct. 11
The Texas Longhorns' upset victory over the Oklahoma Sooners averaged 8.7 million viewers.
[10/14/25 - 02:50 PM]
ALCS Game 1 on FOX and FOX Deportes Draws 5.3 Million Viewers
The Mariners victory over the Blue Jays averaged 5,310,000 viewers across FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports streaming services.
[10/14/25 - 02:39 PM]
FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched LDS on FOX/FS1 Since Launch of Postseason Baseball on FS1 in 2014
On Friday, 8,723,000 viewers tuned in for the Mariners' historic 15-inning ALDS Game 5 victory.
[10/14/25 - 02:15 PM]
"Sunday Night Football" Registers Record Fourth Blockbuster Audience of 25+ Million Viewers This Season, As Lions-Chiefs Averages 27.3 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock
Lions-Chiefs averaged 27.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, based on official Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics, marking the second-most watched October audience in the history of NBC "SNF."