When it comes to drawing an audience to college football, it’s best to be in the SEC.
According to data released by Nielsen on Friday, eight of the top ten most watched teams in college football are a part of the Southeastern Conference. The conference boasts the top three teams with the highest audience, and seven of the top eight programs overall.
Alabama Leads SEC In Total Audience
When it comes to teams people want to watch, it starts with the University of Alabama. According to Nielsen, nearly 8.5 million people watched the Crimson Tide this regular season. They are the only team to break the 8 million viewer mark this year.
The University of Texas finished in the #2 spot, with more than 7.5 million viewers, just barely eclipsing the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs finished at just under 7.5 million viewers.
Ohio State is one of two Big Ten teams in the top ten, finishing fourth with just over 6.5 million viewers. The other Big Ten team in the top ten, the University of Michigan, finished in ninth place. The Wolverines had 5.1 million viewers during the regular season.
The rest of the top ten were all in the SEC: Oklahoma (#5, 6.5 million), LSU (#6, 6.4 million), Tennessee (#7, 6.2 million), Auburn (#8, 5.2 million), and Texas A&M (#10, 5 million)
SEC and Big Ten continue to rule beyond top ten
Both the SEC and Big Ten continued their dominance outside of the top ten. In fact, only three teams in the Top 20 did not belong to those two conferences: Florida State, Notre Dame, and Miami (FL).
Spots 11 through 20 were as follows:
11. Florida (4.7 million)
12. Ole Miss (4.5 million)
13. South Carolina (4.2 million)
14. Florida State (4.1 million)
15. Notre Dame (3.9 million)
16. Vanderbilt (3.6 million)
17. Missouri (3.5 million)
18. Penn State (3.43 million)
19. Miami (FL) (3.425 million)
20. Oregon (3.3 million)
According to Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel, all college football viewership rose 2% from the same time last season. This seasons numbers are combined across ABC, Big Ten Network, CBS, the CW, ESPN networks, FOX and FOX Sports networks, NBC and TNT.
