The annual college football matchup between the Army Black Knights and Navy Midshipmen took place Saturday afternoon ahead of several Bowl games in various conferences and the start of the College Football Playoff. The 31-13 win by Navy garnered an audience averaging 9.4 million viewers, the largest average viewership for the game since 1989. This annual matchup averaged 8.45 million viewers in 1992, representing the previous highmark of the matchup, according to Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch.
Although the Army-Navy game placed 11th overall among the most-watched college football games of the season, it was the most-watched game that did not include the Big Ten Conference or Southeastern Conference. The next closest game in terms of overall viewership was the Big 12 Conference championship between Arizona State and Iowa, which averaged 6.9 million viewers. The Black Knights and Midshipmen entered their annual college football game with 19 combined wins, the most in the history of the rivalry.
The matchup was the second most-watched college football game for CBS Sports in the college football season. Oregon and Penn State drew an average audience of 10.5 million viewers two weeks ago for the Big Ten Conference championship game. Presentations of the Big Ten matchup and Army-Navy were the only two games televised by CBS to place in the top 25 for most-watched college football games in the regular season.
CBS Sports recently reached an agreement with Army and Navy for a 10-year extension of multiplatform rights for the matchup running through 2038. The network has broadcast the game every year since 1996.
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