New Mexico State at Florida State Delivers the CW’s Most-Watched Sports Broadcast in Network History

Nexstar Media Group (NXST), through The CW Network, reported that its Week 0 college football game between New Mexico State and Florida State delivered the largest sports audience in network history, averaging 1.96 million total viewers in primetime.

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The Week 0 Non-Conference Matchup Averaged 1.96 Million Total Viewers in Primetime Last Saturday

Game Delivered the 2^nd Strongest Primetime Broadcast of the Night in the Adults 25-54 Demo

CW College Football Continues This Weekend with Miami (OH) at Pittsburgh and UNLV at Hawai‘i on Saturday, September 5

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The CW Network scored a ratings victory last Saturday as the primetime Week 0 non-conference game between New Mexico State and Florida State delivered the largest audience for a sports broadcast in network history, averaging 1.96 million total viewers, per Nielsen Panel + Big Data.

Viewership peaked at 2.4 million total viewers from 9:15-9:30pm ET as the Florida State Seminoles defeated the New Mexico State Aggies 34-17. The game also delivered the network’s largest sports audience in the key Adults 25-54 demo (718,000) and was the second strongest primetime broadcast program of the night in the demo, surpassing all shows on ABC, CBS and NBC.

The CW is the home for another action-packed weekend of sports beginning this Saturday, September 5, as the Miami (OH) RedHawks visit the Pittsburgh Panthers with coverage kicking off live at 12:00pm ET / 9:00am PT. The 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase for the Championship begins from the legendary Darlington Raceway at 6:30pm ET / 3:30pm PT, followed by a late-night Mountain West showdown between UNLV and Hawai‘i beginning at 10:00pm ET / 7:00pm PT.

On Sunday, September 6, AVP concludes its 2026 season with beach volleyball league championships from Chicago at 2:00pm ET / 11:00am PT, followed by PBR Team Series Thunder Days from Ridgedale, Missouri, at 4:00pm ET / 1:00pm PT. All events will be broadcast live on The CW Network and stream live on the ESPN App for viewers with an ESPN Unlimited subscription plan.

About The CW Network
The CW is one of America’s premier broadcast networks, delivering 18 hours per week of primetime entertainment and children’s programming plus, on average, more than 13 hours of sports programming every weekend. CW Sports is the broadcast home to almost 700 hours of sports programming annually, including the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series; WWE NXT; college football and men’s and women’s basketball from the ACC, Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences; AVP beach volleyball, Professional Bull Riding Team Series; and Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) events. Beginning Summer 2026, CW Sports content will be available on the ESPN App to ESPN Unlimited Plan subscribers. CW Entertainment offers a variety of popular scripted and unscripted programming, including Wild Cards, Sullivan’s Crossing, Police 24/7, Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Scrabble, and Trivial Pursuit. The CW’s primetime and other entertainment programming can be found on the CW App, available for free to consumers on all major platforms, and beginning Fall 2026 will be available in a CW-branded hub on The Roku Channel. The CW is owned by Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST), a leading diversified media company. For more information about The CW, please visit www.cwtv.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260902648670/en/

The CW Media Contacts:
Beth Feldman
Beth.Feldman@cwtv.com

Rob Moynihan
Rob.Moynihan@cwtv.com

Source: The CW Network

Key Terms

adults 25-54 demo technical

A demographic label for people aged 25 through 54, used by advertisers, broadcasters, and market researchers to describe a key consumer age group. It matters to investors because audience size and engagement within this age band often drive advertising revenue, product demand, and valuation—think of it as the core customer segment companies show to advertisers and analysts when proving their reach and commercial appeal.