College GameDay’s Week 1 show at Ohio State scored 4.0 million viewers during the three-hour telecast – the most-watched episode of all time and 1.3 million more than any other regular season episode. The show finished up 58% from 2024’s Week 1 episode at Texas A&M – the most-watched Week 1 episode at the time. The three-hour window (9 a.m. to noon ET) finished 198% over the competition, and the final hour of the show set a record for GameDay, averaging 4.9 million viewers from 11 a.m. to noon, with the final hour eclipsing the competition by 128% head-to-head.
Legendary analyst Lee Corso’s final headgear pick, which spanned the final five minutes of the show, had 10 million viewers across all simulcasts (ESPN/ESPNU/SEC Network/ACC Network/FOX).
Additional Headgear Highlights:
- There were an additional 17 million video views of the headgear selection across ESPN Social Platforms
- Women comprised 34 percent of the audience – a top five regular season episode on record for female audience composition
- The average viewer watched 58 minutes of the show, a significant audience for three-hour studio shows
Additional viewership from ESPN networks’ Week 1 record-breaking slate is available here.
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