ESPN’s College Football Finale Attracts 25.5M Viewers

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ESPN’s telecast of LSU’s victory over Clemson attracted 25.5 million viewers, up 1%, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen.

The game was the most-watched program on cable since the 2018 college football championship game, also on ESPN. It ranks in the top 10 among all cable programs. College football championship games are eight of the top 10 on the all-time cable list.

ESPN had what it called a MegaCast, with different feeds on several of its channels. The primary ESPN channel had more than 25 million viewers, up 3% from last year.

The preliminary figures do not include out-of-home viewing and streaming--which will be added in a few weeks, or viewing on non-rated ESPN channels including ESPN Classic, Goal Line, ACC Network and SEC Network. ESPN Deportes is measured by Nielsen but it data won’t be included in the audience totals.

The three game college football playoffs as a whole averaged 21.6 million viewers, up 5% from last season.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.