The Colorado Buffaloes were once appointment television.
If Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders was on the sideline, people watched. Even people who could not explain a cover-two defense suddenly had opinions about Colorado football.
Those days may be fading after a disappointing 3-9 season last year, Colorado is reportedly losing some of its shine with national television networks. Sources say broadcasters such as ABC/ESPN, Fox Sports/FS1, and TNT Sports/truTV may not view the Buffaloes as the massive television attraction they once were.
When Sanders took over for the 2023 season, Colorado quickly became a TV phenomenon. With Coach Prime prowling the sidelines, and Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter starring on the field, the national networks fought for the school’s game telecasts. In September 2023, ABC drew an eye-popping 10.03 million viewers for Colorado’s blowout loss to Oregon, even topping the 9.98 million for a Notre Dame—Ohio State telecast on NBC Sports that same day.
But the “Prime Effect” on Colorado game viewership is wearing off. Take the program’s recent history on ESPN. During the 2023 season, the five Colorado games televised by ESPN averaged 6.1 million viewers, say sources. The next year, ESPN averaged 3.4 million over four games. During last season’s disaster, it fell to 2 million viewers over seven games. That’s a 67% drop over a three-season span.
The Big 12 has only released the TV schedule for the first three weeks of the season, as well as select other games. Here’s what we know so far about Colorado’s national TV schedule:
The Buffaloes are booked so far for two games on ESPN: Sept. 3 vs. Georgia Tech and Nov. 13 vs. Houston. Another will be streamed on ESPN+: Sept. 12 vs. Weber State. Fox or FS1 will air Colorado’s visit to Northwestern on Sept. 19. The rest remains to be seen, but the Buffs’ TV schedule is likely to be a far cry from their 9—4 campaign in 2024, when all 13 of their games (including the Valero Alamo Bowl) were nationally televised across ABC/ESPN, Fox/FS1, CBS Sports, and NBC Sports.
Sure, Sanders could pull off another miracle in Boulder. With his Hall of Fame resume and Super Bowl credentials, the NFL legend will always be a TV draw. Unfortunately, there’s not much optimism around the program heading into the new season; Colorado ranked 15th out of 16 teams in a preseason Big 12 media poll, and the school is not ranked in the Associated Press’s preseason national Top 25.
The “Prime Effect” was real. Sanders brought celebrity energy, NFL experience, huge social-media numbers, and plenty of headlines. His arrival turned Colorado football into one of the biggest stories in college sports.
The good news is that Colorado can change the story quickly. College football moves fast. One strong season can bring the cameras right back.
