College Football TV Ratings: Big Ten Championship draws record viewership, tops SEC

Conference championship weekend brought plenty of storylines. Teams completed their College Football Playoff resumes, and the Big Ten emerged as the big TV ratings winner of the weekend.

An average of 18.3 million people tuned to FOX as Indiana took down Ohio State at Lucas Oil Stadium. That made it the most-watched game of conference championship weekend, and FOX said it’s also the most-watched Big Ten Championship on record, peaking at 19.99 million viewers.

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The Big Ten topped the SEC Championship, which saw Georgia dominate Alabama en route to a 28-7 victory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. ABC drew 16.9 million viewers on average for the standalone game on Saturday afternoon, becoming the third-most SEC title game ever as the Bulldogs secured a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.

More on ABC’s conference championships

ABC had four marquee conference title games between Friday and Saturday while looking to continue its dominant run in TV ratings this college football season. The American Conference title game between Tulane and North Texas was effectively a CFP play-in game on Friday night as the Green Wave brought home the title. That matchup averaged 2.4 million viewers.

Then, the stage was set for Saturday as ABC aired a tripleheader of conference championships. Texas Tech cruised past BYU once again as the Red Raiders brought home their first Big 12 title in the early game on Saturday. An average of 9.0 million viewers tuned in – the most for the game since 2022 – as Texas Tech blended big plays with staunch defense to get the 34-7 win at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Finally, Saturday night saw the ACC go head-to-head with the Big Ten Championship as Duke and Virginia squared off in Charlotte. ABC brought in 3.9 million viewers as the five-loss Blue Devils held off the Cavaliers in overtime to secure the ACC title and, as a result, keep UVA out of the College Football Playoff.

In addition, the Sun Belt Championship hit 1.1 million viewers on ABC for its Friday night slot. That made it the most-watched Sun Belt game this year as James Madison won the league.

Conference championship weekend followed a strong college football season for TV ratings. Viewership was up 2% during the regular season, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel data, and Ohio State played in the two most-watched games of the year. The biggest came in Week 14 as the Buckeyes got their first victory over Michigan since 2019 and helped them punch their ticket to the Big Ten title game.