Florida State’s 33-32 victory over Michigan last night in the 2016 Orange Bowl was also a huge ratings victory for ESPN, scoring a live audience of 11,704,000 viewers. That ranks the game as the second-most watched non-semifinal New Year’s Six game since the playoffs were established.
Airing December 30 at 8 PM Eastern, the game set a new audience record for ESPN, becoming the network’s most-watched Orange Bowl ever, aside from the college football playoff semifinal in 2015 and the National Championship game in 2013. The 2016 Orange Bowl was also the second most-watched college football game of the 2016 season on any network.
