Season analysis: How did Boise State’s TV audience stack up against the Mountain West?
Note: This is the fourth installment in a five-part series wrapping up Boise State’s 2023 season. Next: How did the Broncos’ attendance at home games compare to the rest of the Mountain West teams?
The Boise State football team averaged 769,500 viewers in 10 publicly rated games that aired on ABC, Fox, FS1 and ESPN2 last season, including the Mountain West championship game and LA Bowl.
The Broncos averaged 797,366 viewers in nine publicly rated games in 2022. Games on CBS Sports Network, which broadcasts most of the Broncos’ road games, are not publicly rated. Viewership numbers are also not available for most streaming services, including the Mountain West Network, Pac-12 Network, ESPN+ and Peacock.
Boise State’s TV audience ranked No. 3 among Mountain West teams that played at least four publicly rated games, according to sportsmediawatch.com. UNLV led the conference, averaging 1.46 million viewers in five publicly rated games. Air Force ranked No. 2 with 1.14 million viewers in four applicable games. Wyoming ranked No. 4 with an average of 730,000 viewers in five games.
The Rebels’ numbers were boosted by a showdown early last season against national champion Michigan, which attracted 2.97 million viewers on CBS. UNLV’s loss to Kansas in the Cactus Bowl attracted 2.69 million viewers on ESPN, and the Rebels’ loss to Boise State in the Mountain West championship game attracted 1.26 million viewers on Fox.
That was down from the 1.94 million viewers who watched the Broncos lose to Fresno State in the 2022 conference title game.
Air Force’s TV audience was boosted by a matchup against Navy on CBS that attracted 1.21 million viewers, and the Falcons’ win over JMU in the Armed Forces Bowl, which drew 2.44 million on ABC. Air Force’s loss in the regular-season finale at Boise State attracted 409,000 viewers on FS1.
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Wyoming got a boost from a season-opening matchup against Texas Tech on CBS, which attracted 1.43 million viewers. The Cowboys’ 16-15 win over Toledo in the Arizona Bowl was watched by 1.1 million fans on The CW, and Wyoming’s 32-7 loss at Boise State was watched by 169,000 fans on FS2.
Fresno State averaged more than 388,000 viewers in eight publicly rated games last season. San Diego State averaged 384,000 in six games.
Utah State averaged 602,000 viewers in three publicly rated games and New Mexico 404,000 in three applicable games. San Jose State averaged 1.56 million in three applicable games, including a loss to Oregon State, which attracted 3.23 million viewers on CBS.
Colorado State’s overtime loss to Colorado and Deion Sanders was the season’s most-watched game involving a team from the Mountain West. It attracted 9.3 million viewers on ESPN. The Rams’ only other publicly rated game was their last-second win over Boise State; that game-winning Hail Mary was seen by 471,000 viewers on FS1.
Nevada also played in just two publicly rated games. The Wolfpack’s loss at Fresno State attracted 369,000 viewers on FS1, and their 6-0 win at San Diego State drew 470,000 on FS2. Hawaii has its own deal with Spectrum and viewership numbers were not available.
The most-watched regular-season Mountain West matchup was Fresno State’s 24-19 loss at Wyoming, which drew 737,000 viewers on Fox.
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Boise State’s most-watched regular-season game was its season opener at Washington, which attracted 1.97 million viewers on ABC. The Broncos were back on ABC for their loss to UCLA in the LA Bowl, which drew 2.38 million viewers.
The Broncos averaged 259,000 viewers in five games at Albertsons Stadium last season, highlighted by their win over Air Force. Boise State’s home win over San Jose State aired on CBS Sports Network, so no viewership numbers were available.
Fox replaced ESPN as the owner of media rights to Boise State’s home games in 2020 as part of the Mountain West’s most recent TV contract. The contract expires after the 2025 season.
Boise State averaged 497,000 viewers in six home games in 2022, four of which aired on FS1. The Broncos also faced BYU on ESPN2 and Utah State on CBS. All six of the Broncos’ games at Albertsons Stadium aired on FS1 in 2021, averaging 341,333 viewers.
Here is a look at TV audience numbers for Boise State’s games from the past five seasons. (The ratings numbers are the percentage of potential audience members tuned into a particular program or station at a given time.)
2023
Sept. 2: at Washington, ABC, 1.1 rating, 1.97M
Sept. 9: vs UCF, FS1, .16, 306,000
Sept. 16: vs North Dakota, FS1, .13, 247,000
Sept. 22: at San Diego State, CBS Sports Network*
Sept. 30: at Memphis, ESPN2, .16, 319,000
Oct. 7: vs. San Jose State, CBSSN*
Oct. 14: at Colorado State, FS1, .26, 471,000
Oct. 27: vs. Wyoming, FS2, .08, 169,000
Nov. 4: at Fresno State, CBSSN*
Nov. 11: vs New Mexico, FS1, .07, 164,000
Nov. 18: at Utah State, CBSSN*
Nov. 24: vs Air Force, FS1, .2, 409,000
Mountain West championship: vs UNLV, Fox, .7, 1.26M
LA Bowl: vs UCLA, ABC, 1.4, 2.38M
(* Boise State’s road games that air on CBS Sports Network are not publicly rated)
2022
Sept. 3: at Oregon State, ESPN, .7, 1.25M
Sept. 9: at New Mexico, CBSSN*
Sept. 17: vs UT Martin, FS1, .10, 214K
Sept. 23: at UTEP, CBSSN*
Sept. 30: vs San Diego State, FS1, .22, 407K
Oct. 8: vs Fresno State, FS1, .19, 375K
Oct. 22: at Air Force, CBSSN*
Oct. 29: vs. Colorado State, FS1, .13, 269K
Nov. 5: vs BYU, FS2, .12, 281K
Nov. 12: at Nevada, CBSSN*
Nov. 19: at Wyoming, CBSSN*
Nov. 25: vs Utah State, CBS, .85, 1.44M
Mountain West championship: vs. Fresno State, Fox, 1.0, 1.94M
Frisco Bowl: vs. North Texas, ESPN, .58, 1.03M
2021
Sept. 2: at UCF, ESPN, .5 rating, 841K viewers
Sept. 10: vs. UTEP, FS1, .2, 347K
Sept. 18: vs. Oklahoma State, FS1, .35, 596K
Sept. 25: at Utah State, CBS, .54, 804K
Oct. 2: vs. Nevada, FS1, n/a, 197K
Oct. 9: at BYU, ABC, 1.3, 2.24M
Oct. 16: vs. Air Force, FS1, .14, 289K
Oct. 30: at Colorado State, CBSSN*
Nov. 6: at Fresno State, CBSSN*
Nov. 12: vs. Wyoming, FS1, .27, 454K
Nov. 20: vs. New Mexico, FS1, NA, 165K
Nov. 26: at San Diego State, CBS, 1.15, 1.95M
Mountain West championship: Utah State vs. San Diego State, Fox, .5, 816K
2020
Oct. 24: vs. Utah State, FS1, .23 rating, 549K viewers
Oct. 31: at Air Force, CBSSN*
Nov. 6: vs. BYU, FS1, .37, 680K
Nov. 12: vs. Colorado State, FS1, .15, 292K
Nov. 21: at Hawaii, Spectrum*
Dec. 12: at Wyoming, CBSSN*
Mountain West championship: vs. San Jose State, Fox, .9, 1.42M
2019
Aug. 31: at Florida State, ESPN News, NA rating, 1.19M viewers
Sept. 6: vs. Marshall, ESPN2, .9, 1.38M
Sept. 14: vs. Portland State, ESPN2, .23, 391K
Sept. 20: vs. Air Force, ESPN2, .6, 895K
Oct. 5: at UNLV, CBSSN*
Oct. 12: vs. Hawaii, ESPN2, .34, 555K
Oct. 19: at BYU, ESPN2, .35, 571K
Nov. 2: at San Jose State, CBSSN*
Nov. 9: vs. Wyoming, ESPN, .7, 1.18M
Nov. 16: vs. New Mexico, ESPN2, n/a, 224K
Nov. 23: at Utah State, CBSSN*
Nov. 29: at Colorado State, CBSSN*
Mountain West title game: vs. Hawaii, ESPN, .37, 550K
Las Vegas Bowl: vs. Washington, ABC, 1.6, 2.64M
