The initial weeks of the 2025 college football season have been a powerful testament to both the rising popularity of the sport and the immediate impact of Nielsen’s new Big Data + Panel audience measurement process.

The season to date has included one milestone after another, including most recently an average audience of 10.4 million for Alabama’s upset of Georgia. The latest ratings, like other weeks, contrast last year’s panel-based viewership metrics with broader ones this year in Big Data + Panel. The new system, introduced at the beginning of September, brings in tens of millions of additional data points from set-top boxes and smart TVs, and it is designed to provide a fuller and more accurate picture of viewer behaviors.

Broader data provided by Nielsen to Front Office Sports shows that even with applying Big Data + Panel methodology to 2024 college football telecasts, the sport has grown by 10.5% from 1.9 million viewers per game in the first five weeks last year to 2.1 million in the comparable period this year. Other viewership metrics surrounding college football in 2025 include:

• A 15% lift in viewership among those ages 18 to 34.
• Six games with an audience of 10 million or more, including the Alabama-Georgia clash. Last year at this time, only one game had reached that level. 

For all of 2025 to date, sports content has accounted for 22% of broadcast and cable viewing time among adults ages 25 to 54, despite that content representing 15% of the programming. Last year, which included the Paris Olympics, the sports consumption figure was 19%. 

“With everything else going on, people are definitely looking for that escape from live sports, and college football certainly has been a big part of that,” Nielsen SVP Brian Fuhrer tells FOS. 

This data lends further support that college football is one of the strongest parts of the entire business of sports, and it is only getting more popular.

“If there’s an argument that anything other than CFB is the hottest sport out there I’d be curious to hear it,” tweeted Fox Sports president of insights and analytics Mike Mulvihill. 

Intricate Process

The Big Data + Panel process, with the inclusion of the many additional data points, is the latest in a continuing effort by Nielsen to enlarge its measurement capabilities. Earlier this year, that also included an expansion of out-of-home measurement. In addition to the panels, set-top boxes, and smart TVs part of Big Data + Panel, Nielsen’s process also involves other technologies, such as its detection of inaudible watermarks embedded into television feeds.

The initiative, however, has generated some initial speed bumps, including some pushback from the NFL about how the enhanced metrics are developed, and recent controversy about a non-accredited measurement used for YouTube’s Chiefs-Chargers game from Brazil. Fuhrer says such issues have been expected, and dialogue continues with leagues such as the NFL. The new process has also introduced delays, typically of about 24 hours compared to the prior method, in reporting viewership figures. 

“Sports is the most complicated thing we do. It’s also the most high-profile thing we do,” Fuhrer says, referring in part to the fluid time periods inherent to live games. “What’s been really encouraging so far is that we’ve done a good job operationalizing this new process and people are quickly getting accustomed to the new cadence.”

On Saturday, ESPN’s College GameDay will be in Tuscaloosa ahead of No. 16 Vanderbilt at No. 10 Alabama, and Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff will originate from Ann Arbor for Wisconsin at No. 21 Michigan. 

However, the hottest ticket in the country will be in Tallahassee.

No. 3 Miami visits No. 18 Florida State on Saturday night, marking the first matchup of the in-state rivals since 2016 that both programs are ranked—and ticket prices are soaring. The get-in price for the ACC contest on all major secondary markets currently exceeds $300, which is more than double any other game this weekend. Vanderbilt-Alabama is the second-most-expensive matchup, with resale tickets trending around $135.

The capacity at FSU’s Doak Campbell Stadium is roughly 67,000, about 12,000 fewer than it used to be, after $265 million renovations that were mostly completed this year.

Miami–Florida State is getting ABC’s 7:30 p.m. ET primetime window that will not feature an SEC matchup for the first time through six weeks this college football season. And while College GameDay won’t be in Tallahassee, ACC Network’s pregame show, ACC Huddle, which expanded its travel strategy this year, will be in town.

As revenue-sharing, NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals, and the transfer portal continue to reshape college sports, Miami and Florida State are both seen as potential powerhouses given their financial support from donors and alumni.

Carolina Blues

Before this season began, many pundits had a certain Week 6 matchup in Chapel Hill circled as the potential game of the weekend.

However, instead of Clemson–North Carolina being a national talking point for the schools and the ACC, Saturday’s game is a matchup of the conference’s two highest-paid coaches, Dabo Swinney and Bill Belichick, whose teams are both struggling to win.

UNC sold out of football season tickets earlier than it ever had in program history. Resale prices for the Clemson game are starting at roughly $80; the game is on ESPN at noon ET.

Crisis averted for NBC Sports parent NBCUniversal and YouTube TV.

The programmer and the Google-owned streamer have reached a long-term distribution agreement, ending what had been another fractious carriage battle in an increasingly difficult television business. The two sides had previously reached a short-term extension that kept the channels on with the No. 4 pay-TV distributor while negotiations continued. 

The full deal, however, ensures carriage for NBCUniversal’s full suite of channels, including the NBC broadcast network, CNBC, Golf Channel, and a revived NBC Sports Network.

“This deal builds on our long-standing partnership with NBCU while addressing the evolving media landscape and recognizing the importance of making content available where and how viewers want to watch it,” YouTube global head of media and sports Justin Connolly said in a statement.

The deal averts blackouts within this weekend’s sports programming on NBC, including a hefty slate of college football and the Oct. 5 Sunday Night Football game between the Patriots and Bills. YouTube TV has nearly 10 million subscribers, according to unofficial estimates, trailing only Charter, Comcast, and DirecTV among major distributors. 

NBCUniversal’s Peacock will be available as a subscription offering within YouTube Primetime Channels. Peacock had been a particular point of conflict in the negotiations, as YouTube had alleged that it was being undercut by much of the same programming under discussion being available on that platform at a lower cost. 

The deal also includes long-term rights for NBCUniversal’s premium programming to show up as short-form clips and highlights on the flagship YouTube. 

“Our new agreement with Google is a clear win for both our business and our viewers,” said NBCUniversal president of platform distribution and partnerships Matt Schnaars. 

YouTube TV is still in the midst of other distribution battles with TelevisaUnivision and with Monumental Sports Network, and those channels are dark on the service.