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THE CW SCORES BIGGEST SATURDAY NIGHT EVER WITH THRILLING PRIMETIME ACC FOOTBALL GAME ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21
THE CW SCORES BIGGEST SATURDAY NIGHT EVER WITH THRILLING PRIMETIME ACC FOOTBALL GAME ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21
Virginia’s Upset Victory Over North Carolina Drew 788,000 Viewers to the Network in Most-Watched Saturday Night Ever
October 24, 2023 (Burbank, CA) – The CW scored its biggest Saturday night ever on October 21 when the ACC football primetime matchup between the Virginia Cavaliers and the North Carolina Tar Heels delivered the network’s largest audience on a Saturday night since national programming began on October 2, 2021 with 788,000 Total Viewers.
Virginia’s stunning upset over North Carolina was the network’s most-watched ACC football game to date and saw week-to-week increases in all key demos including Total Viewers (788,000, +39% over last week), Adults 18-49 (251,000, +77% over last week), Men (531,000, +50% over last week) and Women (257,000, +19% over last week). At its peak, the game drew more than one million viewers at 9:30pm/ET (1.1 million Total Viewers) and 9:45pm/ET (1.3 million Total Viewers).
“Congratulations to The CW on reaching a new viewership milestone and we are proud that ACC Football was their most-watched Saturday night,” said ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, Ph.D. “Our football season has been incredibly exciting and we look forward to what’s to come.”
The game’s thrilling conclusion, which saw Virginia linebacker James Jackson intercept North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye to seal the victory, was captured on The CW’s innovative “ref cam” angle, which drew raves from viewers as it captured the action on the field and allowed audiences to experience the decisive moment of the game first-hand.
The season-high numbers for ACC football come on the heels of impressive debuts for The CW’s new fall scripted series “Sullivan’s Crossing” and “The Spencer Sisters,” which delivered the strongest Wednesday night in almost two years for the network during their October 4 premieres.
ACC football continues on The CW this Saturday, October 28 at 2:00pm/ET with Clemson taking on NC State followed by Georgia Tech at Virginia on Saturday, November 4 at 2:00pm/ET.
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The CW Network, LLC is one of America’s major broadcast networks and reaches 100% of US television households. The CW delivers 15 hours of primetime entertainment programming per week in addition to over 300 hours of sports per year as the broadcast home to LIV Golf, ACC football and basketball games, “Inside the NFL” and the NASCAR Xfinity Series beginning in 2025. The fully ad-supported CW App, with more than 96 million downloads to date, is available for free to consumers on all major platforms and is home to the latest episodes and seasons of The CW’s primetime programming, live streaming of LIV Golf tournaments and a library of entertaining film and television content for on-demand viewing. The CW is 75%-owned by Nexstar Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: NXST), a leading diversified media company and largest CW affiliate group with 42 CW and CW Plus affiliates, covering 39% of the population. For more information about The CW, please visit www.cwtv.com.
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