ESPN Networks Increase Viewership for 2015 College Football Regular Season
- ESPN: Audience Rises for Fourth Consecutive Season
- ABC: Record Number of TV Windows; Saturday Night Football Franchise Delivers
- WatchESPN: Top 5 Games Ever; Continues Record Growth
ESPN-rated networks – ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS — averaged 1,852,000 viewers for the 270 games televised in the 2015 college football regular season, a rise of 4% in viewership compared to 2014 regular season (1,776,000 viewers). Additionally, ESPN averaged 2,721,000 viewers for the 74 games the network aired, marking the fourth consecutive year viewership has increased:
ESPN’s Average Viewership Per Game
| Year | Viewership |
| 2015 | 2,721,000 |
| 2014 | 2,660,000 |
| 2013 | 2,644,000 |
| 2012 | 2,564,000 |
College Football Regular Season.
ABC
ABC averaged 4,979,000 viewers for 41 game-windows, the most ever carried by ABC in a single season. Additionally, heading into conference championship week, ABC Saturday Night Football was the most-watched series in all of college football, across all networks, averaging 5,340,000 viewers.
Top Games
Michigan State at Ohio State on Nov. 21 was the most-watched game of the year on ESPN/ABC (11,052,000 viewers) and the most-watched 3:30 p.m. game of college football season. Overall, ESPN/ABC televised 3 of the top 5 most-watched games and six of the top 10, both across all networks.
WatchESPN
WatchESPN had a record-setting college football regular season, streaming its five most-watched regular season college football games, ever, and nine of the top 10:
| Rank | Average Minute Impressions | Game | Date |
| 1 | 194,000 | Ohio State at Virginia Tech | Sept 7, 2015 |
| 2 | 167,000 | Michigan State at Michigan | Oct 17, 2015 |
| 3 | 146,000 | Florida at LSU | Oct 17, 2015 |
| 4 | 128,000 | Ole Miss at No. Alabama | Sept 19, 2015 |
| 5 | 122,000 | Michigan State at Ohio State | Nov 21, 2015 |
| 6 | 119,000 | Auburn at Alabama | Nov 29, 2014 |
| 7 | 118,000 | Ohio State at Michigan | Nov. 28, 2015 |
| 8 | 105,000 | Florida State at Clemson | Nov 7, 2015 |
| 9 | 101,000 | North Carolina at Clemson | Dec. 5, 2015 |
| 10 | 87,000 | California at Utah | Oct. 10, 2015 |
WatchESPN also experienced significant growth in 2015 with a per game increase of 54% in average minute impressions, 38% total unique viewers, and 53% total minutes viewed.
Please note: All television numbers do not include the American Championship game from Saturday, December 5, 2015. Those viewership numbers will be available on Thursday, December 10.
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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; [email protected] and @DerekVolner
