Highlights of the 2023 season
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- Game day It remains the most-watched preseason show in college football and has reached 30 million viewers this season
- The 2023 season is Game dayFourth best season ever
- The first pregame show celebrated his 30th season on the road, Lee Corso’s 400th headgear selection, CGD’s first visit to Duke and trips to six different conferences this year
ESPN College GameDay was built by The Home Depot 2023 had a massive year, celebrating its 30th season on the road and having the second most-watched season since 2011 and the fourth-best season ever. The first pregame show made his first-ever trip to Duke this season, traveling to six different conferences and watching Lee Corso make his 400th cap selection.
Game day It averaged 2.0 million viewers, just 0.7% below last year’s record season (2.1 million) and 8% higher than in 2021. The show had its most-watched October ever with 2.1 million viewers across four episodes and a third Best November ever with 2.2 million viewers. Viewers. This season saw A Game day A record six television shows exceeded 2.2 million viewers and reached 30.0 million viewers in a season.
If the display were a game window, Game day It will rank as the third most-watched regularly scheduled college football window on cable, behind only ESPN’s early and late games. College game day It remains the most-watched sports news and studio program on the cable channel’s No. 1 college football pregame show, outpacing the competition in the final hour by 60% overall and by 105% in key 18-49 demographics.
GameDay’s The most-watched show of 2023 was Week 13’s visit to Ann Arbor, Michigan, for competition week, averaging 2.4 million viewers, the sixth most-watched episode of all time. A Week 3 visit to Colorado and a Week 6 trip to the Red River Rivalry were followed by 2.3 million viewers. The former came in as the most-watched September episode since 2010 and the latter was the second-most-watched pre-November episode since 2010. All three shows reached 3.0 million viewers in the final hour, with three of the four shows achieving that number. season.
College game day He finished the 2023 season with trips to the SEC Championship Game – their best conference championship ring since 2011, and a special visit to the Army-Navy Game. The two-hour pre-show episode of “America’s Game” featured special guests including legendary New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick as guest selector, Patriots CEO Robert Kraft and General Charles Q. Brown Jr.., Twenty-first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The show averaged 1.3 million viewers, up 29% from the 2021 episode that aired before the game.
Faces Game day
College GameDay’s Familiar faces are back this fall with the host cool davis At the helm in his ninth season, joining the former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit (27th season), Michigan Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Famer Desmond Howard (Season 18) and former West Virginia kicker and punter Pat McAfeewhich returned for its second full season on Game day office. McAfee kicked off a new segment – and an instant fan favorite – this season by hosting Pat McAfee’s Kicking Contest where he put up his own money while fans attempted to kick a 33-yard field goal each week. After ESPN licenses Pat McAfee Show Earlier this year, McAfee and his team joined regularly Game day On site for the Friday live shows, which attract large and enthusiastic crowds.
Legendary coach Lee Corsowho has been part of the game’s first prelims since its inception in 1987, celebrated a banner year by being selected for the 400th headgear during the show’s Week 3 visit to Colorado.
Jen Lada (Season 8) Bassem is back Game day Features a reporter sharing meaningful and moving stories each week including Utah State head coach Blake Anderson’s resilience during tragedy and Florida State fan Jack Coleman’s lifelong love for the game.
College football insider Thamel House And a reporter Jess Sims Both returned for season two Game day. Thamel provided breaking news and the latest college football updates throughout the season, while Sims brought fans closer to the game with unique behind-the-scenes experiences such as marching with the Ohio State band and participating in the grueling obstacle course at USA. Military Academy.
College football betting analyst “Stanford Steve” Coughlin He finished his first season on the show hosting a weekly segment of Fridge Picks as well as joining Davis and Thamel on the popular program College game day Podcast.
Coverage across conferences
the Game day The cast and crew traveled extensively during the 2023 season as the Big 10, Pac-12 and SEC hosted their prelims three times each. in everything, Game day Six different conferences were visited over 14 weeks this season: ACC (1), Big Ten (3), Big 12 (1), Pac-12 (3), SEC (3), Sun Belt (1) and one neutral site.
Duke was the only school to host it College game day for the first time in 2023, while James Madison’s third time hosting the show saw a record crowd of 26,000 fans as Game day It officially celebrated 30 years of promotions in November. In another milestone, Washington State’s “Ol Crimson” flag celebrated 300 days in a row Game day Appearances on location in Ann Arbor.
In numbers
Social and digital delivery
- Game dayIts social media platforms contributed to the season’s success – total social account followers rose to 7.7 million while social engagement across all platforms reached 35.6 million engagements – an 11% increase from 2022. Additionally, total impressions reached across all Platforms to 673 million, up 3% year-on-year.
- ESPN’s weekly digital and social showcase Countdown to GameDay It saw significant increases across various metrics in 2023. Christine Williamson, Harry Douglas And harry lyles jr, He returned to host the show live on the website College game day every week. the countdown It again attracted millions of viewers, including a 29% year-over-year increase in weekly viewers and a 20% increase in weekly minutes watched on YouTube.
Game day Extras
- Game day She kicked off her first road show of the season in Tuscaloosa with a special performance by three-time GRAMMY® Award winners Dan + Shay. During their Week 12 trip to JMU, the GRAMMY® Award-winning Jonas Brothers joined by Bailey Zimmerman helped celebrate the show’s 30th season on the road.
- Notable celebrity guests this season include Darius Rucker (Week 1), Joe Namath (Week 2), Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson (Week 3), Vince Vaughn (Week 4), Ken Jeong (Week 5), Baker Mayfield ( the week). 6) and pending PFT (week 12), among others.
- ESPN celebrated its 30th season on the road with an update to the national anthem and continued its creative campaign this year — “The Greatest Story Ever Told” — with an ad telling the story of Nebraska fan Bobby Merced who made the first ad. Game day
What then
College game day The 2023 college football season will conclude with special editions originating from the College Football Playoff Semifinals in the Rose Bowl on Saturday, December 30 from 9 a.m. to noon and Monday, January 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It will face off against No. 1 Michigan and No. 4 Alabama for the national championship berth (5 p.m.). The show will then conclude the season at the CFP National Championship in Houston on Monday, January 8 from 9 a.m. to noon before the big game (7:30 p.m.).
Announced earlier this month, College game day She will make her first international trip to start the 2024 season, traveling to Dublin before the ACC rivalry game between Georgia Tech and Florida State. Additional details about the trip will be announced in the coming months.
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Media Contact:
Julie MacKay, ESPN Communications – [email protected], @McKay_Julie
ESPN’s College GameDay program, sponsored by Home Depot, continues to capture the attention of viewers across the country, with an anticipated average of 2 million viewers in 2023. This is set to be the second most-watched season for the popular college football pregame show since 2011. With its energetic atmosphere, insightful analysis, and engaging coverage of the biggest matchups in college football, College GameDay remains a staple for fans and an invaluable platform for sponsors. As the show continues to draw in record-breaking viewership, it’s evident that College GameDay’s impact on the college football landscape is as strong as ever.