Over 10 Million Tune in to Ohio State–Virginia Tech, Making it Most-Watched Opening Weekend Game Ever on ESPN/ABC

By 11W Staff on September 10, 2015 at 11:08 am
Sam Hubbard and Jalyn Holmes celebrate at Virginia Tech
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No. 1 Ohio State's 42–24 dismantling of Virginia Tech on Labor Day set an ESPN/ABC record for the most-watched opening weekend college football game ever on the family of networks with 10,585,000 viewers tuning in.

The number easily topped the 9,888,000 viewers who tuned in for the Virginia Tech–Boise State game on Labor Day 2010.

Top Opening Weekend Games on ESPN/ABC
Rank Viewership Date Network Game
1 10,585,000 Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 ESPN No. 1 OHIO STATE at VIRGINIA TECH
2 9,888,000 Monday, Sept. 6, 2010 ESPN No. 3 BOISE STATE vs. No. 10 VIRGINIA TECH
3 9,648,000 Monday, Sept. 5, 2005 ABC No. 9 MIAMI at No. 14 FLORIDA STATE
4 9,142,000 Monday, Aug. 31, 1998 ABC No. 14 TEXAS A&M vs. No. 2 FLORIDA STATE
5 9,120,000 Monday, Sept. 4, 2006 ESPN No. 11 FLORIDA STATE at No. 12 MIAMI

Monday's game was the third most-viewed regular season college football game ever on ESPN. Additionally, Ohio State's win was the most-streamed regular-season college football game on WatchESPN of all time. Across all devices, the game had an average minute audience of 194,000 users and a total of 708,000 unique viewers online.

Top Regular Season Games on ESPN
Rank Viewership Date Game
1 13,529,000 Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014 No. 15 AUBURN at No. 1 ALABAMA
2 10,586,000 Saturday, Sept. 13, 2009 No. 3 USC at No. 8 OHIO STATE
3 10,585,000 Monday, Sept. 7, 2015 No. 1 OHIO STATE at VIRGINIA TECH
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