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Media Lies. Football Viewership is UP over 2025
Posted on 10/2/26 at 10:49 am
Posted on 10/2/26 at 10:49 am
I know, it's shocking news,but sports media LIES.
Not mislead, not inaccurate, Total LIARS.
Total viewership of College football is up so far in 2026 over 2025.
Facts.
More games televised
More Total viewership
11% less per game
Big 10 unusually weak match-ups oer all
the early 2026 slate has had fewer blockbuster games, while the number of televised games has increased. That makes average viewers per broadcast look bad even though overall consumption is higher.
The available reporting says only that total college-football viewing is “slightly up” year over year, according to Fox sports-media analyst Michael Mulvihill—even though average viewers per game are down 11%
Not mislead, not inaccurate, Total LIARS.
Total viewership of College football is up so far in 2026 over 2025.
Facts.
More games televised
More Total viewership
11% less per game
Big 10 unusually weak match-ups oer all
the early 2026 slate has had fewer blockbuster games, while the number of televised games has increased. That makes average viewers per broadcast look bad even though overall consumption is higher.
The available reporting says only that total college-football viewing is “slightly up” year over year, according to Fox sports-media analyst Michael Mulvihill—even though average viewers per game are down 11%
This post was edited on 10/2/26 at 10:50 am
Posted on 10/2/26 at 10:53 am to stitchop
Wait...you mean that as regular season games become less and less important, fewer people are watching? Crazy
Posted on 10/2/26 at 11:00 am to Dawgs2122
quote:
.you mean that as regular season games become less and less important, fewer people are watching? Crazy
That's not true.
More people are watching.
Posted on 10/2/26 at 11:02 am to stitchop
quote:
Facts.
More games televised
I dont know other conferences
But for the SEC, this means more of the OOC games (cupcakes) are moved to September.
That may or may not also result in viewership down per game.
A 9th conference game literally eliminated 8 games to televise later in the season.
Viewership down per game would not be fruitful for this 9 game experiment if that holds.
Posted on 10/2/26 at 11:10 am to stitchop
quote:
More people are watching.
quote:
average viewers per game are down 11%
Posted on 10/2/26 at 11:15 am to stitchop
Just to add context to your OP:
MEDIA ASSERTION: Total time spent viewing college football through September 2026 is up 0.2% compared to last year, despite a drop in average per-game viewership.
From AI synopsis:
I don't think it is a lie at all. There is a sect that will watch CFB games. The more games broadcast, the more they will keep TV on all day. I don't think that changes much. They will also jump around during games to other games.
Some of these games would not have previously been broadcast due to overall interest, but they still have an audience. It will drag down per game viewership #s but inflate overall viewership #s in the aggregate when compared to the previous year.
Not sure where the lies are except for how the data is represented. As the saying goes, there are "lie, damned lies and statistics."
MEDIA ASSERTION: Total time spent viewing college football through September 2026 is up 0.2% compared to last year, despite a drop in average per-game viewership.
From AI synopsis:
quote:
Viewership Analysis by Michael Mulvihill
• Total Viewing Time vs. Averages: While average per-game viewership for FBS broadcasts fell roughly 11% through the first four weeks of the season (averaging 1.7 million viewers), [ Michael Mulvihill on X ] notes that total viewing time is a more accurate indicator of overall health.
• Volume Negates Decline: The total volume and number of games broadcast on national networks increased, which offsets the lower per-game averages as audiences spread across a higher inventory of broadcasts.
• Football Landscape: Mulvihill characterized the overall landscape as a "flat football season" that remains healthy. By comparison, total viewing time for the NFL dipped 0.7% over the same September window.
• Discourse on Chaos: Mulvihill rejects the narrative that off-field changes, the transfer portal, or NIL turbulence have eroded fan interest or harmed the television product
I don't think it is a lie at all. There is a sect that will watch CFB games. The more games broadcast, the more they will keep TV on all day. I don't think that changes much. They will also jump around during games to other games.
Some of these games would not have previously been broadcast due to overall interest, but they still have an audience. It will drag down per game viewership #s but inflate overall viewership #s in the aggregate when compared to the previous year.
Not sure where the lies are except for how the data is represented. As the saying goes, there are "lie, damned lies and statistics."
Posted on 10/2/26 at 11:16 am to stitchop
quote:
More people are watching.
Or, the same group are watching more games.
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