The Saban Effect: College GameDay continues to see record ratings

ESPN’s iconic College GameDay Saturday morning pregame show where the crew travels to a new campus every week and previews the biggest game of the week has received a much-needed boost this season with the addition of former Alabama head coach Nick Saban to the desk.

The excitement around Saban’s arrival is reflected in the amount of people watching the show according to new numbers released from the network. The show in Tuscaloosa last week for the Georgia vs. Alabama game was the most watched September episode for the program since 2010 and the second most-watched in September in the show’s history:

🗣️ @CollegeGameDay's momentum keeps rolling following a Wk 5 visit to the @UofAlabama

🏈 2.3M avg. viewers
🏈 3.0M final-hr viewers
🏈 UP 38% over '23's Wk 5
🏈 Best Sept. episode since '10 & 2nd-best all-time

The premier CFB pregame program is on pace for it's best season EVER pic.twitter.com/4Sz9RhFlSL

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) October 1, 2024

The show in averaged 2.3 million viewers throughout and climbed up to 3 million during the final hour, up 38 percent from the same week last season. ESPN also says that the show is on pace for its biggest season in history, which would be a massive development considering it has been on the air since 1997.

Saban has drawn rave reviews for his analysis and fans love getting to see the human side of a coach they have come to know just for winning a lot of football games over the years. It’s safe to see that ESPN has made a spectacular decision in bringing in the greatest coach to ever do it.