Deion Sanders arrived in Boulder in 2023 as a certified television phenomenon, turning Colorado football into must-watch programming almost overnight. But according to new ratings data, the glow of ‘Coach Prime’ is dimming fast.
Front Office Sports reports that the initial surge of attention that followed Sanders has been steadily declining, with Colorado’s game broadcasts losing millions of viewers over the past three seasons. The numbers paint a stark picture: ESPN’s Colorado telecasts averaged 6.1 million viewers in 2023, fell to 3.4 million in 2024, and dropped to just 2 million last season — a 67% collapse in a three-year span.
The decline is a notable reversal for a coach who turned Colorado into a national spectacle in his first year. In September 2023, ABC drew a staggering 10.03 million viewers for a lopsided loss to Oregon, edging out the 9.98 million who watched Notre Dame-Ohio State on NBC the same day. It was a testament to Sanders’ star power, fueled by his NFL pedigree, his son Shedeur Sanders at quarterback, and two-way standout Travis Hunter.
But the novelty appears to be wearing off. While Fox’s over-the-air broadcasts have averaged 4.7 million viewers across three seasons, the trend on both networks suggests audiences are moving on. Last season, which the source describes as a ‘disaster’ for Colorado, saw ESPN’s average slip to a modest 2 million per game.
The on-field product hasn’t helped. Going into the 2026 season, Colorado finds itself ranked 15th out of 16 teams in the preseason Big 12 media poll and absent from the Associated Press preseason Top 25. Expectations are low, and so, increasingly, is the audience.
The fading ratings raise questions about whether Sanders’ star power can survive a string of losing seasons. While the 2023 and 2024 seasons delivered drama and headline-grabbing storylines, the 2025 campaign appears to have sapped much of the enthusiasm that once made Colorado one of the most-watched teams in college football.
For broadcasters who fought for the rights to Colorado games at the height of the ‘Prime Effect,’ the numbers are a cautionary tale. The lesson may be that even the most magnetic coaching personality can’t sustain a TV boom without sustained success on the field.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2026/08/18/ratings-show-college-football-fans-are-no-longer-watching-coach-deion-sanders/