CBS starts its college football coverage a little after the season’s opening week, typically waiting for the first marquee conference matchup on the SEC schedule. Waiting definitely paid off in 2021. CBS just recorded the best opening weekend for the SEC on CBS in nearly a decade.
Alabama and Florida played a nail-biter on Saturday afternoon. The game was decided by a poorly executed delayed read as Florida tried to convert what would have been a game-tying two-point conversion. The Gators were stuffed and as a result, the top-ranked Crimson Tide escaped Gainesville with a 31-29 win.
The broadcast averaged 7.86 million viewers. The peak came right at the end, with 11.59 million viewers. That is the best opening week for the SEC on CBS package since 2013.
The number CBS put up in the 2013 opener may never be touched, especially with the end of the network’s relationship with the SEC looming. Alabama’s win over Texas A&M opened the 2013 season. That broadcast averaged 13.59 million viewers.
Last year, the SEC on CBS began its season with Mississippi State’s upset of defending national champion LSU. The game didn’t feature two highly ranked teams, like Saturday’s matchup of #1 and #11. It also was later than usual, due to the SEC delaying the start of its season amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. Alabama and Florida topped that game by 76%.
There are only two more seasons left on CBS’s sweetheart deal with the SEC. The conference’s primary broadcast rights switch over to ESPN and ABC after the 2023 season.
