College football’s annual Labor Day game got a tiny lift from Notre Dame.
Monday’s Notre Dame-Louisville college football game averaged 5.60 million viewers on ESPN, the largest audience for a Labor Day college football game since Mississippi-Florida State three years ago (8.35M).
Viewership inched up a fraction of a percent from last year (Virginia Tech-FSU: 5.58M) and 9% from Tennessee-Georgia Tech in 2017 (5.13M). Ratings were not immediately available.
Notre Dame’s easy win delivered the second-largest college football audience of the holiday weekend, behind Auburn-Oregon on ABC Saturday night (6.86M).
The previous night, ABC averaged a 3.0 rating and 5.44 million viewers for Houston-Oklahoma — down 21% in ratings and 17% in viewership from last year (Miami-LSU: 3.8, 6.55M), but up 11% and 17% respectively from West Virginia-Virginia Tech in 2017 (2.7, 4.65M).
Outside of Auburn-Oregon — which posted double-digit increases — each of ABC’s opening weekend games declined. The network averaged a 2.8 (-13%) and 4.64 million (-12%) for Duke-Alabama and a 1.2 (-45%) and 1.88 million (-46%) for Mississippi-Memphis on Saturday afternoon.
The ESPN cable networks fared better, with increases for seven of the nine week one windows that can be compared to last year. Georgia State’s upset of Tennessee posted the biggest gain, with viewership on ESPNU up 115% to 702,000.
Georgia-Vanderbilt, as previously reported, jumped 67% in ratings (to 1.0) and 81% in viewership (to 1.82M). South Carolina-UNC increased by 50% (to 1.05) and 49% (to 1.78M), Fresno State-USC by 33% (to 1.0) and 28% (to 1.65M), and Wisconsin-USF by 17% (to 1.1) and 28% (to 1.80M). Those games aired on the flagship ESPN.
Even Mississippi State-Louisiana posted a 54% jump on ESPNU (to 370K).
The most impressive performance may have come from the rescheduled Boise State-Florida State game, which averaged 1.19 million despite airing on ESPNEWS.
South Alabama-Nebraska was an exception to the rule with a 1.0 (-17%) and 1.78 million (-8%) on ESPN. No comparison was available for Friday’s Colorado state-Colorado game, which had a 0.8 and 1.28 million.
The complete list of week one college football ratings is available here.
