ESPN, FOX announce historic news following Week 1 of college football

College football is doing very well and the sport has the television ratings to prove it. On Wednesday, ESPN and FOX each announced record viewing numbers out of the Nielsen Fast Nationals and the Nielsen Big Data Plus Panel. Both networks set some new bests and particularly with the context of the Week 1 setting, the records certainly reflect a burgeoning national interest in college football.

FOX announces top Week 1 game ever

The battle of then- No. 1 Texas and No.3 Ohio State on FOX was a predictably massive broadcast. At an audience of 16,623,000, the game immediately became the most-viewed Week 1 network broadcast in college football history. The audience was indicated to have maxed out at slightly over 18.5 million in the fourth quarter when Arch Manning was trying to lead a Texas comeback. FOX indicated that the game was the third most-watched college football game ever on FOX.

ESPN/ABC also promotes massive Week 1 audience

While ESPN (and its parent company, ABC) couldn't quite match the OSU/Texas broadcast audience, it was a phenomenal weekend for the networks. Start with the record 5.7 million College Game Day viewers who tuned in to see Lee Corso don mascot-related headgear for one final time, which was a record for that show.

The big ESPN/ABC game came on Sunday, when 10.8 million viewers tuned in to watch Notre Dame face Miami in a top 10 showdown. That was the second-best Sunday opener ever on ABC, trailing behind 2016's matchup of Notre Dame against Texas.

ABC had nearly as many viewers with 10.7 million for the Saturday afternoon Alabama vs. Florida State tilt. That game peaked at 12.9 million viewers, likely drawing a bigger audience as Florida State's 31-17 upset came to fruition. ESPN indicated it was the most-watched Week 1 game in the mid-afternoon slot ever.

The Saturday night game between LSU and Clemson had over 10.4 millions viewers, making it the sixth most-watched Week 1 game ever on ABC. ESPN also drew significant audiences for other games, including over 6.1 million for Monday's North Carolina/TCU game.

That said, all of the networks still have work to do, as the all-time college football viewing record remains the over 35 million who watched the Texas vs. USC Rose Bowl game in 2006, when Vince Young led the Longhorns past Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart, 41-38.