Oklahoma’s thrilling last-minute victory over Texas this past Saturday not only delivered one of the best audiences for the Red River Rivalry in 14 years but also became the most-watched college football game of the week. The game, broadcast on ABC, drew an average of 7.31 million viewers during the noon window.
Additionally, ESPN2 simulcasted the game with the Pat McAfee Show, bringing in an extra 559,000 viewers, bringing the total viewership to 7.87 million. This marked the highest viewership for the Red River Rivalry (excluding Big 12 Championship games) since 2009.
CBS also had a strong week, averaging 7.23 million viewers for the Alabama vs. Texas A&M game in the 3:30 p.m. window. ABC claimed the primetime slot, averaging 5.12 million viewers for Louisville’s upset victory over Notre Dame.
Oklahoma-Texas hits 14-year viewership high, most-watched game of the week https://t.co/ITXrgdYbTO pic./hBEvK64SzZ
— Awful Announcing (awfulannouncing) October 10, 2023
Fox saw impressive viewership for the Big Noon window, with 4.51 million viewers tuning in for Ohio State’s win over Maryland. However, they slipped to third place in the afternoon behind CBS and ABC, with 1.45 million viewers for UCF vs. Kansas. In primetime, they came in fourth behind ABC, ESPN, and NBC for the Fresno State vs. Wyoming game, with just 737,000 viewers.
So far this season, ten games have surpassed seven million viewers, with a fairly even distribution between different time slots and networks. Week 7 promises some exciting matchups, with competition heating up in the afternoon and primetime slots.
As for Colorado, their games are now back on a Nielsen-rated network, and they will play against Stanford in the late window on Friday, offering viewers another exciting college football showdown