Deion Sanders’ “Prime Time” nickname is literal now — just check the numbers.
Usually a late-night college football game between Colorado and Colorado State wouldn’t be a draw in terms of television ratings. However, that was before the Deion Sanders era, as the 2023 version of the rivalry contest pulled in over nine million viewers.
Saturday’s game averaged a 4.9 rating, pulling in a whopping 9.3 million viewers on ESPN, according to ESPN PR. The figure marks the largest late night NCAA football audience ever on the four-letter network, as well as the fifth-biggest regular season audience on record for ESPN’s entire family of networks. It was also their most-streamed regular season game of all time.
Peaking at 11.1 million viewers from 11:00-11:15 p.m. ET, the Buffaloes’ double-overtime victory brought in the largest audience of the college football season so far. The top spot was previously held by the Labor Day weekend showdown between Florida State and LSU, with that game bringing in 9.17 million viewers on ABC.
🔥 @CUBuffsFootball‘s comeback thriller registers 𝟗.𝟑 𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒
🏈ESPN’s 5th most-watched CFB game on record
🏈Shatters previous ESPN late prime window viewership high
🏈@ESPNCFB‘s most-streamed regular season game of all time pic.twitter.com/his917lb0F— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) September 19, 2023
And it’s not just ratings, everything that Deion Sanders is touching is turning to gold.
Every week Colorado plays football:
1. TV ratings records get broken
2. Buffalo merchandise gets sold (out)
3. Stars from film, music and TV get spotted on CU sidelines
4. That’s the power of Prime
— RJ Young (@RJ_Young) September 19, 2023
It’s just incredible what’s going on right now in Boulder, and I’m all for it — I even bought myself a Buffaloes shirt, and as you know, I’m a Miami Hurricanes fan. But I love Deion Sanders, and Colorado just has so much swag right now.
And you better believe I’ll be locked in as a fan this weekend for the game against No. 10 Oregon, which I’m sure will continue to add to these historic ratings that Deion is producing. (RELATED: ‘Get His A** In The Film Room’: Tom Brady Semi-Jokingly Gets After Shedeur Sanders For Flashy Lifestyle)
Keep doing the damn thing, Coach Prime! Go Buffs!