College football is back in action! Millions of fans are going to be looking for a place to watch the games all season long. If you’re a sports bar or restaurant owner, you don’t want to be left out on the sidelines. College football is a huge opportunity to tap into this passionate fan base and score a win for your bottom line.
Check out our college football deep dive to get an inside look at what games fans are watching, who is driving these record-breaking viewership numbers and which DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS® sports package you need to make the 2025 college football season a winner for your business.
Ready to gear up for a great season of college football? Check out our DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS sports packages today!
College Football By The Numbers
College football continues to top TV ratings. Take a look at some of the stand-out viewership numbers from 2024:
- Over 154 billion minutes of college football were watched live across ESPN, FOX, NBC and other networks.1
- 16.6 million viewers tuned in to watch the SEC Championship game between Georgia and Texas.2
- 10.5 million fans watched the Big Ten Championship between Oregon and Penn State.3
- The ACC Championship drew 5.98 million viewers during the Clemson vs. Southern Methodist (SMU) game.4
What Networks Are Fans Watching College Football On?
College football is continuing to drive huge audiences. Take a look at the breakdown of how many people are watching on which network:
- ABC averaged 5.8 million viewers per game—a 56% YoY increase—making it the best season since 2009.2
- ESPN platforms saw an average of 1.9 million viewers per game and saw a 19% YoY increase. This was ESPN’s most-watched season since 2016.2
- FOX averaged 5.06 million viewers during their Big Noon Saturday window over the course of 13 weeks.5
Who Is Watching College Football?
According to a college football fans’ playbook by KORTX, most college football viewers are between the ages of 18 and 55 years old, with the 35-year-old to 44-year-old demographic showing the highest engagement. Fans are more likely to be college-educated and are 1.6 times more likely than the average U.S. population to earn over $100k annually. It’s not just men who are watching college football. According to the playbook, women are more active in social media engagement for college sports. Big football schools like Alabama, LSU, Michigan and Ohio State each have over 3 million social followers, with several schools having more social media followers than NFL teams, as reported by the New York Times.
Pride for college football runs deep. Fans love the traditions, school spirit and community camaraderie that come with watching college football. And for alumni and students alike, it’s about more than just cheering for a team; it’s part of their identity.
Check out our article on Your Playbook To Winning Over College Football Fans.
What Are The Most Watched College Football Games?
It’s not enough to just put on college football games and hope that fans will show up to watch at your sports bar or restaurant. You need to strategize which games will bring in the largest crowds and boost food and beverage sales. From Rivalry Week to Bowl Season to the College Football Playoffs, DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS has the games fans want to watch.
Rivalry Week
It’s no surprise that fans tune in to see long-time rivals like Michigan and Ohio State or Auburn and Alabama play each other. Week 14, aka Rivalry Week, was the most-watched regular season in 2024. If you own a sports bar or restaurant, you definitely want to make sure you’re providing customers with a place to watch these games. Take a look at last year’s viewership numbers:
- 12.3 million fans tuned in on Fox to watch the Michigan and Ohio State game6
- 9.5 million people watched the Texas and Texas A&M college football on ABC6
- 8.5 million fans watched the Georgia vs. Georgia Tech game on ABC6
- 7.4 million fans saw Auburn take on Alabama on CBS6
Bowl Season
Bowl games are also a fan favorite. ESPN averaged 2.7 million viewers for bowl games in 2024. This was the best bowl season in five years, with a 14% YoY increase.7 This year’s college football bowl games start on Saturday, December 13, 2025, and go through the College Football Playoffs title game on Monday, January 19, 2026.
Check out the 2025-26 college football bowl game schedule here.
College Football Playoffs
Last year’s college football playoff games were watched by millions of viewers. Take a look at the data:
- Nine of the season’s 10 most-watched games in 2024 were playoff games.8
- The college football quarter-finals averaged 16.9 million and the semi-finals averaged 19.2 million viewers.9
- The NCAA National Championship averaged 22.1 million viewers, the top college football playoff broadcast and the most-watched non-NFL sporting event of the year.10
You can see the 2025-26 college football playoff schedule here.
College Football By Conference & How To Watch
DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS has the SEC, BIG Ten and ACC games college football fans want to watch. Check out the stats from these conferences from last year and how to watch with DIRECTV.
SEC By The Numbers
- 589 million total viewers11
- The SEC accounts for eight of the top 10 most-watched schools during the season11
- Sixteen of the top 20 regular-season broadcasts involved at least one SEC team11
Watch with the Southeastern Conference Network (SECN)
Make sure your customers can catch all the SEC football games and more. SECN brings you 24/7 coverage and more than 2,000 live events across the SEC’s 22 sports, including more than 40 football games. Plus, you’ll get access to SEC-focused programming like SEC Nation and SEC Storied.
Big Ten By The Numbers
- 471 million total viewers3
- The Big Ten Championship game was the most-watched football game on CBS in 20243
Watch on the Big Ten Network (BTN)
The Big Ten Network provides comprehensive coverage of the nation’s most storied conference, spanning 18 schools from coast to coast, with 500+ live events, originals, highlights, analysis and more. Offering the largest and most competitive slate, featuring 40+ live Big Ten college football games, 120+ men’s and 50+ women’s Big Ten basketball games.
ACC By The Numbers
- 208 million total viewers12
- The top games on ABC had 5 million viewers, and even the least-viewed game had 1.95 million viewers12
- ESPN aired two ACC games with more than 4 million viewers12
Watch on the Atlantic Coast Conference Network (ACCN)
Give your customers all the ACC excitement through the ACC Network. Subscribers can enjoy more than 500 games from across the conference’s 28 sponsored sports, including college football games. Plus, news, original programming and in-studio analysis.
Ready to get started? Check out our college sports packages today!
Become the Ultimate College Football Hangout With DIRECTV MVP
DIRECTV MVP is here to help market your business as the ultimate college football headquarters. We offer easy-to-use marketing solutions and tools to help you pack the house on game day.
Bar & Restaurant Marketing Materials
Each of the three big college football networks offers college sports materials that DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS customers can order on MVP. Promote your business with:
SEC Network Materials: Poster, coasters, wood sign, apron, pint glasses and condiment caddy
ACC Network Materials: Beer pitcher, coasters, napkins, pint glasses and poster
Big Ten Network Materials: Banners, coasters, stadium cups, table tents, shirts and more
Weekly Sports Schedule
DIRECTV MVP makes it easy to find all the college games and channels with premium sports schedules. This allows you and your employees to stay ahead of the latest college sports programming, up to seven days in advance. The schedules can be customized to your local channels using your zip code.
DIRECTV’s Sports Bar Finder
Sports Bar Finder is an easy way to help grow your customer fan base. Customers can search their location for bars and restaurants showing the games they want to see, team affiliations, watch parties and more. DIRECTV customers receive an automatic listing for bars with an ESPN or premium sports package. Plus, it also includes Yelp ratings, customer reviews and photos to help fans find your business.
Learn more about how to step up your business game with DIRECTV MVP.
Score Big This Season With DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS
Gear up for the football season with a touchdown-worthy sports package from DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS. With ESPN+ for BUSINESS, NFL Sunday Ticket and more, we can help you find the right college and pro football package for your business at an affordable price. And with 99% worry-free signal reliability, you’ll never have to worry about your customers missing a second of the action. DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS also gives businesses hassle-free customer service and complimentary standard professional installation. Call 888.303.9117 to get started today!
Sources:
- https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2024/nielsen-shares-college-football-conference-champs-and-overall-top10-based-on-season-viewership-rankings/
- https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2024/12/espn-and-abc-deliver-record-breaking-college-football-viewership-in-2024-abc-scores-top-two-most-watched-windows-with-abc-saturday-night-football-more-than-doubling-the-competition/
- https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2024/12/big-ten-championship-ratings-oregon-penn-state-cbs-viewership/
- https://collegefootballnetwork.com/2024-college-football-tv-ratings/
- https://awfulannouncing.com/fox/ohio-state-indiana-strong-weekend-college-football-viewership.html
- https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/12/06/ratings-roundup-college-football-sweeps-ratings-across-all-networks/
- https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2025/01/espns-college-football-bowl-viewership-reaches-record-highs-for-2024-25-season/
- https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2024/nielsen-shares-college-football-conference-champs-and-overall-top10-based-on-season-viewership-rankings/
- https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/43525435/cfp-title-game-most-watched-season-viewership-down
- https://sports.yahoo.com/cfp-national-championship-game-averaged-175015577.html
- https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5984665/2024/12/11/sec-football-viewership-georgia-alabama/
- https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/2025/06/2024-acc-viewership-analysis.html
