College Football TV Ratings: SEC's big day leads championship weekend viewership

Once again, conference championship weekend proved one thing. When it comes to TV ratings, the SEC is king.

Saturday’s SEC Championship between Alabama and Georgia brought in more than 17 million people — the second-most viewed game of the season and second in title game history only to the 2009 championship, according to Sports Media Watch. The Crimson Tide handed the Bulldogs their first loss in more than 700 days, and in the process, punched a ticket to the College Football Playoff, and delivered one of the biggest TV ratings in college football this year.

There was a sizable gap between the SEC and the rest of the Power Five championships, with only the Big Ten topping the 10 million viewers mark as the interest grew in Sunday’s CFP reveal show.

SEC Championship — Alabama vs. Georgia

Channel: CBS
Date/Time: Dec. 2, 3:30 p.m. ET
Viewers: 17.52 million

The SEC on CBS got quite the sendoff as No. 8 Alabama fought off No. 1 Georgia in a 27-24 thriller at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It marked Nick Saban’s ninth victory in the SEC Championship, and this year’s viewership came in only behind his first at Alabama in 2009 — a 32-13 victory over Tim Tebow and Florida.

Big Ten Championship — Michigan vs. Iowa

Channel: FOX
Date/Time: Dec. 2, 8 p.m. ET
Viewers: 10.02 million

One of college football’s big stories took another turn as Michigan got Jim Harbaugh back on the sidelines, but the matchup with Iowa didn’t do much to help TV ratings. This year’s Big Ten Championship was the second-least viewed in title game history behind the 2020 game, yet it still came in as the second-most watched championship game of 2023.

Pac-12 Championship — Washington vs. Oregon

Channel: ABC
Date/Time: Dec. 1, 8 p.m. ET
Viewers: 9.25 million

The Pac-12 rode into the sunset with is biggest conference championship viewership in history as 9.25 million people watched Washington beat Oregon. It was a historic night for the conference, which is preparing to lose 10 teams after a conference realignment shakeup.

Big 12 Championship — Texas vs. Oklahoma State

Channel: ABC
Date/Time: Dec. 2, noon ET
Viewers: 7.89 million

For the first time in the CFP era, Texas is in the national semifinal after dominating Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship. However, it came in front of the lowest audience for a conference title game since 2020 with 7.89 million tuning in for Quinn Ewers’ record-setting day.

ACC Championship — Florida State vs. Louisville

Channel: ABC
Date/Time: Dec. 2, 8 p.m. ET
Viewers: 7.03 million

While the ACC Championship was the least-watched conference championship this year, Florida State vs. Louisville still brought in double the viewership of last year’s game. The Seminoles and Cardinals struggled to get much audience going, but FSU came out on top to complete the 13-0 season — even though Mike Norvell and Co. finished outside the top four of the CFP.

With conference championships in the books, it’s now on to bowl games and the College Football Playoff. TV ratings were up around college football this year, and it’ll be interesting to see how that momentum can carry into the CFP.