Ohio State-Notre Dame Thriller Is NBC’s Most Watched Regular-Season College Football Game Since 1993 “Game Of The Century”
Led by Peacock, Saturday Night’s Game is NBC Sports’ Most-Streamed College Football Simulcast
September 25, 2023
Buckeyes’ Last-Second, Three-Point Win Over Fighting Irish Averaged 10.5 Million Viewers, Peaking at 14.2 Million Viewers on Game-Winning Touchdown Drive (10:30-10:45 p.m. ET)
Ohio State-Notre Dame is Most Watched Primetime Regular Season College Football Game on Any Network Since 2018, Excluding Labor Day Holiday Weekend
NBC Sports drew its largest regular-season college football audience in 30 years for No. 6 Ohio State’s down-to-the-wire 17-14 win over No. 9 Notre Dame, with a touchdown in the closing seconds on Saturday night.
The Buckeyes’ three-point victory over the Fighting Irish averaged 10.5 million viewers across NBC, Peacock and NBC Sports Digital, ranking as NBC Sports’ second-most watched regular season college football game of all-time, behind only then-No. 2 Notre Dame’s “Game of the Century” 31-24 defeat of No. 1 Florida State on Nov. 13, 1993 (22 million viewers).
Additional viewership highlights from Ohio State-Notre Dame:
- The Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 605,000 viewers for Saturday night’s live stream via Peacock and NBC Sports Digital platforms marks NBC Sports’ most-streamed college football simulcast.
- Viewership for Ohio State-Notre Dame peaked at 14 million from 10:30-10:45 p.m. ET, as the Buckeyes drove for the game-winning score (a one-yard run with one second remaining).
- Excluding the Labor Day holiday weekend, Saturday night’s matchup is the most-watched primetime regular-season college football game on any network since 2018.
- Ohio State-Notre Dame (7:37 p.m.-11 p.m. ET) registered a national NBC-TV household rating of 5.1/16.
Viewership figures are based upon live + same day data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics.
TOP METERED MARKETS FOR OHIO STATE-NOTRE DAME (based on 44 markets available):
1. |
Columbus, OH |
29.9/65 |
2. |
Cleveland |
21.1/54 |
3. |
Cincinnati |
12.8/33 |
4. |
Indianapolis |
11.6/33 |
5. |
Detroit |
11.0/32 |
6. |
Chicago |
7.0/24 |
7. |
West Palm Beach |
6.6/19 |
8. |
Tampa |
6.2/19 |
T9. |
Nashville |
6.1/18 |
T9. |
Norfolk |
6.1/17 |
--NBC SPORTS--