In a repeat of last year, FOX edged ESPN on college football’s opening night, but ESPN won in the key demo. Plus: NFL preseason viewership inched up from last year; a near-record TV audience watched Nebraska volleyball set an attendance record; and more.
FOX tops ESPN on CFB opening night, ESPN wins demo race
Thursday’s Nebraska-Minnesota college football game averaged a 1.9 rating and 3.49 million viewers on FOX, down 11% in ratings and 1% in viewership from Penn State-Purdue last year (2.1, 3.51M), but still the most-watched game of opening night.
ESPN’s competing Florida-Utah game averaged a 1.7 and 3.19 million, flat and up 1% respectively from West Virginia-Pitt a year ago (1.7, 3.15M). In a repeat of last year, ESPN lost the overall head-to-head to FOX but came out ahead in adults 18-49 (1.1 to 0.8). Keep in mind that ESPN was pulled from Charter’s Spectrum cable system — and its 15 million subscribers — right before kickoff.
In other opening night action, Kent State-UCF averaged a 0.18 and 317,000 on FS1 — down 22% and 21% respectively from Central Michigan-Oklahoma State last year (0.23, 402K).
NFL preseason viewership up slightly, hits NFL Network high
NFL preseason games averaged 1.87 million viewers across NFL Network, NBC, FOX, CBS, ESPN and Amazon Prime (28 telecasts), up 3% from 1.81 million last year, though down from two years ago (1.94M). The three games on broadcast television were unsurprisingly the most-watched, led by the Hall of Fame Game on NBC (5.98M).
NFL Network averaged 1.48 million for its 23-game slate, up 8% from 1.37 million a year ago and its most-watched preseason since 2015. Its top game was 49ers-Raiders on August 13 with 2.23 million. NFL Network’s total-day viewership during the preseason rose 12 percent year-over-year.
Nebraska volleyball sets attendance record in front of near-record TV audience
Wednesday’s Omaha-Nebraska women’s college volleyball match, which attracted the largest in-person crowd on record to watch a women’s sporting event, averaged a 0.24 rating and 518,000 viewers on BTN — trailing only Nebraska-Wisconsin on BTN last year (587K) as the most-watched regular season college volleyball match on record.
Keep in mind that matches in the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament regularly attract larger audiences, including 786,000 for last year’s final.
Plus: F1, BIG3, WNBA
— Last Sunday’s Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix averaged a 0.5 rating and 1.02 million viewers on ESPN, down 13% in ratings and 11% in viewership from last year (0.6, 1.15M), but up from two years ago on ESPN2 (870K). (Figures for last week’s NASCAR and IndyCar races were previously noted here.)
— The championship game of the BIG3 basketball league averaged a 0.29 and 472,000 on CBS last Saturday, down 24% and 26% respectively from last year (0.38, 638K). The preceding BIG3 Celebrity Game finished comfortably higher at a 0.38 and 632,000.
— Monday’s Aces-Liberty WNBA regular season game averaged a 0.18 and 328,000 on ESPN2, the network’s largest regular season WNBA audience since 2018.
Nielsen estimates from Programming Insider 8.29, 8.31, 9.1, network PR. For more ratings data, see the latest weekly chart.
