FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas’ football game against Alabama last week was the Razorbacks’ most-watched game in nearly seven years.
CBS averaged 5.83 million viewers and had a peak of nearly 7 million for the game, which saw the Crimson Tide pull away for a 49-26 victory after Arkansas cut the lead to 28-23 at the end of the third quarter.
The game had a 3.2 rating, meaning an estimated 3.2% of TV households were tuned in.
It was the most-watched college football game of last weekend and CBS’ most-watched college football game this year. Four college football games have averaged larger audiences in 2022. All have been televised on over-the-air networks.
Arkansas had not had a TV audience that large since a 45-23 victory over Kansas State at the Liberty Bowl to close the 2015 season. ESPN averaged 7 million viewers for that game, according to archived TV figures at SportsMediaWatch.com.
For Alabama, it was the second-largest audience for a game this season, trailing the 10.6 million average on FOX for the Crimson Tide’s 20-19 victory at Texas on Sept. 10.
CBS averaged 5.5 million viewers and had a peak audience of nearly 7.4 million for the 2021 game between Arkansas and Alabama, which the Crimson Tide won 42-35 at home.
Largest College Football TV Audiences in 2022
Matchup, Date: Avg. Viewers, Network
Texas-Alabama, Sept. 10: 10.6 million, FOX
Notre Dame-Ohio State, Sept. 3: 10.5 million, ABC
Florida State-LSU, Sept. 4: 7.6 million, ABC
Oregon-Georgia, Sept. 3: 6.2 million, ABC
Arkansas-Alabama, Oct. 1: 5.8 million, CBS
Source: SportsMediaWatch.com