Biggest tracked game
34.1M
2014 Oregon at Ohio State on ESPN 'Megacast'
Audience Intelligence
College Football TV Ratings & Viewership Lab
Compare rated college football audiences by game, team, conference, network, and era using Sports Media Watch rows matched to CFBTrack games.
Rated Sample
133 games
2008 – 2025 with 7 rows still flagged for review.
Average Audience
15.2M
Median game is 13.6M across 18 seasons.
Audience Context
Rated-game rows are separated from schedule coverage so audience comparisons stay tied to measured broadcasts.
Most Watched
34.1M
Oregon at Ohio State on ESPN 'Megacast'.
Top Team Draw
Unavailable
Team draw rankings will appear once the rated sample is available.
Rated Games
133
Sports Media Watch audience rows matched to CFBTrack games.
Median Audience
13.6M
Average audience is 15.2M in the active scope.
10M+ Games
133
Eight-figure TV audiences in the rated-game sample.
Coverage Range
2008 – 2025
Audience rows are tracked separately from schedule-only media coverage.
Audience research
TV ratings and viewership lab
Use Sports Media Watch audience rows to compare games, teams, conferences, and network draw.
Early seasons include partial Sports Media Watch packages and selected articles, so year-over-year comparisons should account for coverage depth.
10M+ club133 gamesAll rated games5,328 gamesCFP era4,636 gamesRegular season4,848 gamesPostseason480 gamesNetwork TV1,565 games
Rated games
133
2008-2025 with 7 rows in review.
Average viewers
15.2M
Median audience is 13.6M.
Most watched
34.1M
Oregon at Ohio State
Million-plus games
133
40.6% of rated rows are postseason.
Team and network comparisons use matched rated-game rows from the active scope; regular-season filters use the dataset's regular season_type and team brand-lift baselines exclude direct head-to-head games.
Share hooks
Stats built for arguments
Fast cuts from the active filter, ready to copy into a post or use as a research lead.
Top team draw
Oregon
20.0M average across 6 rated games
Best repeat matchup
24.6M
Alabama vs Clemson, 4 tracked games
Regular-season king
20.0M
2011 LSU at Alabama on CBS
10M+ club
133
Games reached at least eight-figure audiences
Top conference draw
Pac-12 Conference
17.5M average by team appearance
Top outlet
CBS
13.1M average across 34 games
Rated games
Most-watched game table
Sort by viewers, rating, season, or outlet to inspect the top broadcast audience rows.
| Game | Share | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon at Ohio State | 2014 · W1 | ESPN 'Megacast' | 34.1M | N/A | |
| Alabama at Georgia | 2017 · W1 | ESPN,ESPN2,ESPNU | 28.4M | N/A | |
| Alabama at Ohio State | 2014 · W1 | ESPN | 28.3M | N/A | |
| Oregon at Florida State | 2014 · W1 | ESPN | 28.2M | N/A | |
| Alabama at Michigan | 2023 · W1 | ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU | 27.8M | N/A | |
| Georgia at Oklahoma | 2017 · W1 | ESPN &ESPN2 | 26.9M | N/A | |
| Alabama at Clemson | 2015 · W1 | ESPN Megacast | 26.2M | N/A | |
| Florida State at Auburn | 2013 · W1 | ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS | 26.1M | N/A | |
| Clemson at LSU | 2019 · W1 | ESPN Megacast | 25.6M | N/A | |
| Clemson at Alabama | 2018 · W1 | ESPN Megacast | 25.3M | N/A | |
| Clemson at Alabama | 2016 · W1 | ESPN Megacast | 25.3M | N/A | |
| Washington at Michigan | 2023 · W1 | ESPN | 25.1M | N/A | |
| Georgia at Alabama | 2021 · W1 | ESPN | 22.6M | N/A | |
| Ohio State at Georgia | 2022 · W1 | ESPN/ESPN Megacast | 22.4M | N/A | |
| TCU at Michigan | 2022 · W1 | ESPN/ESPN Megacast | 21.7M | N/A | |
| Alabama at Clemson | 2017 · W1 | ESPN &ESPN2 | 21.5M | N/A | |
| Clemson at Ohio State | 2019 · W1 | ESPN Megacast | 21.1M | N/A | |
| Ohio State at Oregon | 2024 · W1 | ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU | 21.1M | N/A | |
| LSU at Alabama | 2011 · W10 | CBS | 20.0M | 11.5 | |
| Washington at Alabama | 2016 · W1 | ESPNESPN2 | 19.3M | N/A | |
| Ohio State at Clemson | 2016 · W1 | ESPNESPN2 | 19.2M | N/A | |
| Ohio State at Clemson | 2020 · W1 | ESPN Mega | 19.1M | N/A | |
| Ohio State at Michigan | 2023 · W13 | FOX | 19.1M | N/A | |
| Oklahoma at Alabama | 2018 · W1 | ESPN/ESPN2 | 19.1M | N/A | |
| Notre Dame at Alabama | 2020 · W1 | ESPN Mega | 18.9M | N/A |
Rated games
Most-watched regular-season games
A cleaner table for regular-season TV arguments, where postseason inventory does not dominate the top rows.
| Game | Share | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LSU at Alabama | 2011 · W10 | CBS | 20.0M | 11.5 | |
| Ohio State at Michigan | 2023 · W13 | FOX | 19.1M | N/A | |
| Ohio State at Michigan | 2025 · W14 | FOX | 18.4M | N/A | |
| Florida at Alabama | 2009 · W14 | CBS | 18.0M | 11.1 | |
| Georgia at Alabama | 2023 · W14 | CBS | 17.5M | N/A | |
| Alabama at Georgia | 2018 · W14 | CBS | 17.5M | N/A | |
| Michigan at Ohio State | 2022 · W13 | FOX | 17.1M | N/A | |
| Michigan at Ohio State | 2016 · W13 | ABC | 16.8M | N/A | |
| LSU at Alabama | 2019 · W11 | CBS | 16.6M | N/A | |
| Georgia at Texas | 2024 · W15 | ABC | 16.6M | N/A |
Rivalry TV index
Repeat matchups that travel
Matchups with at least three tracked games, ranked by average audience.
#1
Alabama vs Clemson
4 games · top game Alabama at Clemson at 26.2M
24.6M
Average
#2
Clemson vs Ohio State
4 games · top game Clemson at Ohio State at 21.1M
17.7M
Average
#3
Alabama vs Georgia
8 games · top game Alabama at Georgia at 28.4M
17.5M
Average
#4
Alabama vs Oklahoma
3 games · top game Oklahoma at Alabama at 19.1M
15.3M
Average
#5
Michigan vs Ohio State
10 games · top game Ohio State at Michigan at 19.1M
14.7M
Average
#6
Alabama vs Florida
4 games · top game Florida at Alabama at 18.0M
14.2M
Average
#7
Georgia vs Texas
4 games · top game Georgia at Texas at 16.6M
13.4M
Average
#8
Alabama vs LSU
7 games · top game LSU at Alabama at 20.0M
13.3M
Average
#9
Alabama vs Auburn
7 games · top game Alabama at Auburn at 13.8M
12.4M
Average
#10
Georgia vs LSU
3 games · top game Georgia at LSU at 13.7M
12.2M
Average