ABC had two of the best Week 8 games in college football and, predictably, the TV ratings for each game delivered huge numbers.
Saturday’s main primetime game between then-No. 5 Georgia and No. 1 Texas at 7:30 p.m. ET drew an average of 12.9 million viewers with a peak of 14.1 million, according to ESPN. That’s the highest viewership for a college football game this season and the largest viewership for a regular-season CFB broadcast on ESPN platforms since 2016.
The Bulldogs won the game 30-15, moving to No. 2 in this week’s AP Top 25.
The other top SEC clash when No. 7 Alabama vs. No. 11 Tennessee at 3:30 PM ET averaged 10.7 million viewers and peaked at 14.7 million. That’s the second-highest audience for a game between the Crimson Tide and the Volunteers, surpassed only by the 2022 matchup on CBS, which averaged 11.5 million viewers and peaked at 16.5 million.
The Volunteers won 24-17, moving up four spots to No. 7.
The Georgia-Texas telecast topped the previous high rating for the 2024-2025 season, the Week 5 Georgia-Alabama tilt. An ABC primetime SEC matchup, that clash, also drew an average of 11.99 million, according to Sports Media Watch viewers. Alabama-Tennessee currently has the third-highest audience.
ABC’s Week 8 SEC doubleheader marked the first time a network broadcast two games on the same day with an audience of more than 10 million since 1996. Achieving ratings not seen in 28 years is what ABC and ESPN had in mind when they paid over $300 million for the SEC football broadcast package.
