In spite of a strong schedule and some strong numbers, ESPN posted mixed results for the opening weekend of the college football season.
Monday’s Mississippi/Florida State college football game earned 8.4 million viewers on ESPN, down 21% from Ohio State/Virginia Tech last year, the most-watched regular season game ever on ESPN (10.6M), and up 131% from Miami/Louisville in 2014 (3.6M). Ratings were not immediately available.
Despite the double-digit decline, the Seminoles’ comeback win trailed only last year as the most-watched Labor Day game since Boise State/Virginia Tech in 2010 (9.9M).
On WatchESPN, the game delivered 234,000 viewers — the largest college football regular season audience ever on the service. The previous record was set the previous night by Notre Dame/Texas (194K). The combined TV and streaming audience was 8.6 million, still down 20% from Ohio State/Virginia Tech (10.8M).
Shifting to Saturday, Clemson/Auburn earned a 2.6 and 4.7 million in the nightcap of ESPN’s tripleheader — up 86% in ratings and 92% in viewership from Arizona State/Texas A&M in an earlier timeslot last year (1.4, 2.5M). Compared to Wisconsin/LSU in the same window two years ago, ratings dipped 7% (from 2.8) but viewership increased 1% (from 4.68M to 4.74M).
Georgia/North Carolina pulled a 1.9 and 3.5 million earlier in the evening, up 58% in ratings and 85% in viewership from Penn State/Temple in an earlier window last year (1.2, 1.9M) but down 17% and 11%, respectively, from Clemson/Georgia in 2014 (2.3, 4.0M).
Michigan’s 63-3 rout of Hawaii started off the day with a 1.3 and 2.1 million, down 38% in ratings and 34% in viewership from Stanford/Northwestern last year (2.1, 3.2M) and down 32% and 27%, respectively, from UCLA/Virginia in ’14 (1.9, 2.9M).
ESPN also posted sizable declines for Colorado State/Colorado on Friday night, with viewership down 47% from Baylor/SMU last year (from 2.0M to 1.1M). Rounding out the week, as previously noted, ESPN’s Thursday night opener hit a five-year viewership low.
(Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily, Programming Insider)
