A large audience tuned in for Deion Sanders‘ debut as head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes. Plus: more week one numbers (full list here).
Colorado-TCU averaged a 3.8 rating and 7.26 million viewers on the season premiere of FOX “Big Noon Saturday,” marking the largest opening week college football audience ever on FOX and the day’s top sportscast across all networks. FOX did not carry a “Big Noon” game in week one of last season.
The Buffaloes’ win averaged nearly three million more viewers than the other Noon ET games combined (4.4M). (Keep in mind that excludes games on networks or services that are not Nielsen-rated, including Peacock.) For the week, only FSU-LSU on ABC Sunday night (9.17M) averaged a larger audience.
The strong lead-in helped Rice-Texas to a 1.6 and 3.21 million, more-than-double UTEP-Oklahoma with no lead-in last year (0.7, 1.22M).
Elsewhere Saturday, Ohio State-Indiana averaged a 2.3 and 4.65 million in the debut of the Big Ten on CBS — more-than-tripling the network’s week one game last year (Arizona-San Diego State: 0.6, 921K) and the network’s most-watched week one game in 25 years.
Keep in mind the obvious caveat that CBS has rarely carried games in the opening week of play. Due to past US Open commitments, CBS has always begun its SEC schedule in week three of the season. Since losing the US Open in 2014, it has carried occasional games in weeks one and two, mostly Mountain West or service academy games.
Ratings and viewership comfortably outpaced last year’s matchup of Indiana and Ohio State, a November matchup on FOX that averaged 3.34 million in the network’s “Big Noon” window.
CBS also drew a 0.8 and 1.43 million for a weather-delayed, double-overtime Texas Tech-Wyoming game that ended after 2 AM ET. In a first for the network, CBS carried a pair of games on Sunday — scoring a 1.5 and 2.68 million for Northwestern-Rutgers and a 1.7 and 3.23 million for Oregon State-San Diego State.
As for the other Big Ten newcomer, NBC averaged a 1.8 and 3.50 million for West Virginia-Penn State Saturday night — edging ABC’s competing Saturday Night Football matchup of North Carolina and South Carolina at a 1.7 and 3.40 million.
NBC also drew a 0.9 and 1.56 million for Tennessee State-Notre Dame, down from the team’s home opener against Marshall last season (1.4, 2.48M).
While ABC topped week one with a 4.7 and 9.17 million for Florida State-LSU Sunday night — up double-digits from last year — the network’s Saturday slate suffered steep declines. Both Boise State-Washington (1.1, 1.97M) and North Carolina-South Carolina declined more-than-two-thirds from last year’s higher-profile windows (Oregon-Georgia: 3.2, 6.20M; Notre Dame-Ohio State: 5.2, 10.53M).
Virginia-Tennessee was also down sharply, its 1.4 and 2.46 million down 35 and 37 percent respectively from Colorado State-Michigan last year (2.2, 3.93M).
ESPN also saw sizable declines, with Arkansas State-Oklahoma down 55% in ratings (to 0.51) and 52% in viewership (to 970K), UMass-Auburn down 67% (to 0.51) and 64% (to 1.03M), New Mexico-Texas A&M down 73% in both measures (to 0.37, 794K) and Coastal Carolina-UCLA down 31% (to 0.47, 862K). Keep in mind that ESPN has been removed from Charter’s Spectrum cable service, which has nearly 15 million subscribers.
ESPN did see gains for Louisville-Georgia Tech Friday night, which drew a 0.9 (+28%) and 1.65 million (+23%), but last year’s comparable game aired on ESPN2 opposite Serena Williams‘ final tennis match (Western Michigan-Michigan State: 0.7, 1.35M).
Rounding out the opening Saturday slate, FS1 was a mixed bag with ratings and viewership down more than a third for Utah State-Iowa (0.32 561K) and UTSA-Houston (0.16, 323K) and up more than a third for Buffalo-Wisconsin (0.39, 784K) and Sam Houston-BYU (0.24, 444K).
BTN topped out at a 0.18 and 343,000 for Fresno State-Purdue, well below the network’s top week one audience last year, 889,000 for North Dakota-Nebraska.
(For more numbers, see the college football ratings page or the weekly sports ratings chart.)
