ESPN and ABC Rewrite Week 1 Viewership History Books, "College GameDay" Shatters All-Time Audience Record

· ABC boasts best Kickoff Weekend on record with 8.6 million viewers across four games

· College GameDay Built by The Home Depot delivers the most-watched episode ever with 4.0 million viewers

· ABC drew three games with 10M+ viewers, the first time ESPN networks have reached that milestone in a single weekend

· Alabama-Florida State scores 10.7 million viewers, the best mid-afternoon Week 1 audience on record

ESPN and ABC kicked off the college football season with record-breaking audiences, highlighted by the most watched episode in the history of College GameDay, the best Week 1 for ESPN networks on record and ABC's strongest Kickoff Weekend performance on record.

College GameDay Built by The Home Depot delivered its most watched show ever, averaging 4.0 million viewers. The show's final 15 minutes, featuring Lee Corso's iconic headgear pick, peaked from 11:45 - noon ET at 5.7 million viewers across ESPN and ESPNU - the highest quarter-hour peak ever for the Saturday morning program. The comprehensive peak audience for Corso's final headgear pick across ESPN's roadblock (ESPN/ESPNU/SEC Network/ACC Network) and FOX, along with full social media measurement, will be available Thursday.

Across the full weekend, ABC averaged 8.6 million viewers across four games, marking its best Kickoff Weekend on record. ABC drew three games with more than 10 million viewers, the first time ESPN networks have reached that milestone in a single weekend.

Sunday's primetime showdown between Notre Dame and Miami drew 10.8 million viewers, ABC's second-best Sunday Opener on record, trailing only the 2016 Notre Dame-Texas thriller. The Fighting Irish/Hurricanes matchup peaked with 11.8 million viewers. On Saturday, Alabama-Florida State led the way with 10.7 million viewers - the most-watched Week 1 game in the mid-afternoon window on record, peaking with a monster 12.9 million viewers.

ABC Saturday Night Football Presented by Capital One featuring LSU and Clemson attracted 10.4 million viewers, ranking as the sixth most-watched Week 1 game ever on ABC. The all-Tigers tussle peaked at 11.3 million viewers. Inclusive of the first Aflac Kickoff Game between Syracuse and Tennessee (2.6M viewers), ABC's Saturday tripleheader averaged 7.8 million viewers, becoming the best Kickoff Saturday tripleheader on record.

Sunday also saw 5.4 million viewers for the second Aflac Kickoff Game on ESPN featuring Virginia Tech and South Carolina, peaking with 6.5 million viewers. Based on Nielsen Fast Nationals, ESPN's Labor Day Monday game between TCU and North Carolina scored 6.1 million viewers with a peak of 8.1 million viewers. The complete and final audience will be available on Thursday.

Additional ESPN games from Kickoff Week also contributed to the strong start:

· Georgia Tech at Colorado (Fri, Aug 29 - 8 p.m.): 3.7M viewers

· Nebraska vs. Cincinnati (Fri, Aug 29 - 9 p.m.): 3.3M viewers

· Boise State at South Florida (Thu, Aug 28 - 5:30 p.m.): 2.0M viewers

These viewership measurements are based on Nielsen's Big Data + Panel methodology, combining Nielsen's panel measurement with data from cable, satellite set-top boxes and smart TVs across 45 million households and 75 million devices. Viewership records date back to 1996.

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