The second part of the team of 12 College Football Playoffs brought stronger television audiences for ESPN and ABC. In total, the first round averaged 9.9 million viewers across ESPN, ABC, TNT and truTV.
that of Alabama victory at Oklahoma led the charge with an average of 14.9 million viewers on Friday. This just beat Saturday’s opener between Miami And Texas A&Mwhich brought together an average of 14.8 million viewers. The Hurricanes’ thrilling win over the Aggies peaked at 19.3 million viewers while Alabama-Oklahoma peaked at 16.4 million.
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The final two games of Saturday’s tripleheader were broadcast on TNT and truTV. Ole Mademoiselle resounding victory against Tulane attracted an average of 6.2 million viewers late in the afternoon that of Oregon earn James Madison attracted an average of 4.4 million viewers in prime time.
For comparison, last year’s first round saw two matches top 13 million viewers, led by 14.3 million for Tennessee has Ohio State. Both of these games were broadcast on ESPN and ABC. The other two, just like in 2025, aired on TNT while also taking on the NFL as the league begins playing games on Saturday.
The 2025-26 season marks the second year of a sublicensing agreement between ESPN and TNT to broadcast CFP games. Ross Dellenger had more details on the future of the deal, including a semifinal match on TNT, and how the NFL fits into the equation.
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ESPN and ABC hoped to continue the momentum created during the college football regular season as big winners in television ratings. ABC broadcast 17 of the Top 20 most watched games of the yearled by Texas against. Texas A&M in their Week 14 rivalry match. The Showdown of the Lone Stars reached 13 million viewers during Black Friday.
How it happened: 1st round of the College Football Playoff
In Friday’s standalone game, Alabama got its revenge against Oklahoma after the Sooners beat the Crimson Tide during the regular season. It seemed like it would be all OR early, but Ty Simpson and the offense kicked things off en route to a 34-24 victory in Norman. Zabien Brown also made a huge play for the Alabama defense with a game-tying pick-six in the third quarter to help the Tide maintain momentum.
That set the stage for a tripleheader on Saturday, which began with Miami against Texas A&M. Points were precious at Kyle Field amid high winds and multiple special teams errors, but a late delay Malachi Toney the touchdown was the difference as the Hurricanes rolled to a 10-3 victory to advance to the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.
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From there, Ole Miss kicked off its new era with great fanfare, outscoring Tulane 41-10 to give Pete Golding his first victory as head coach of the Rebels. Then, in the nightcap, Oregon left no room for doubt as the Ducks defeated James Madison 51-34 at Autzen Stadium. This sent both teams to the quarterfinals.
