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Citrus Bowl delivers 6.5 million viewers, most-watched bowl outside NY6

Jack PIlgrimby: Jack Pilgrim01/05/22
Cirtus Bowl, Kentucky victory, Wan'Dale Robinson
Photo by Dr. Michael Huang | Kentucky Sports Radio

Kentucky’s win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl was among the most-watch games during bowl season.

ESPN announced Wednesday that the Citrus Bowl delivered a total of 6.5 million viewers on ABC, making it the most-watched non-New Year’s Six bowl game of the season. The audience peaked at 8.6 million viewers.

That 6.5 million average mark is a 35 percent jump from 2021 when No. 10 Northwestern defeated Auburn 35-19.

The Citrus Bowl’s 6.5 million viewers was part of a combined 16.2 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC on New Year’s Day in the afternoon window.

For comparison’s sake, the New Year’s Six average viewership was 10.7 million, broken down by the following:

  • Rose Bowl – 16.6M viewers
  • Sugar Bowl – 9.8M viewers
  • Fiesta Bowl – 8.0M viewers
  • Peach Bowl – 7.6M viewers

Those NY6 bowl averages are up 15 percent over 2020.

As for the CFB Playoff games, the Orange Bowl hit 17.2 million viewers, followed by the Cotton Bowl at 16.6 million viewers.

Kentucky is right there with college football’s elite.

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2025-08-03