Has the new College Football Playoff grown the overall fanbase for college football? Many think so after the week #1 Nielsen ratings were released. Viewership across all channels for week #1 set records. "ESPN reports that it kicked off the 2015 college football season with the most-watched opening weekend college football game ever on ESPN or ABC" (Cynopsis). Some of the highlights include:

1. Ohio State/Virginia Tech drew 10,585,000 viewers tune in
2. Alabama/Wisconsin generated 7,967,000 viewers
3. ESPN's 8 games over the weekend averaged 3,356,000 viewers, up 27% from the seven games which run during 2014’s opening weekend on the network