Miami-USF Could Be The CW’s Biggest Football Game Yet

Saturday’s Miami-USF matchup isn’t just another college football game—it’s a milestone moment for The CW and its unexpected rise as a player in live sports broadcasting.

When No. 5 Miami takes on No. 18 South Florida at 4:30 p.m. ET, the network is anticipating its largest college football audience ever. For context, The CW’s current record is 1.33 million viewers for last year’s North Alabama–Florida State game. Yes, that matchup—hardly a blockbuster—still stands as the high point for a network that’s been around in various forms since 1995.

That tells you everything about where The CW started and how far it’s come. The network’s overall sports record is 1.8 million viewers for a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona. With Miami-USF featuring two ranked teams with real playoff ambitions, this game has a chance to break that mark and become the most-watched sports broadcast in CW history.

The CW’s college football story so far has been one of steady, small victories. After North Alabama-FSU, its next-biggest draw was the Barstool Arizona Bowl (Toledo vs. Wyoming), which brought in 1.1 million viewers. Beyond that, audiences dipped: Virginia–North Carolina at 788,000 and Washington State–Oregon State at 695,000.

What’s notable isn’t how massive these numbers are, but that they exist at all. By picking up games overlooked by bigger networks, The CW has carved out a niche—airing matchups that may not be marquee TV but matter deeply to players, schools, and fans.

That strategy has paid off. Since launching live sports in 2023, The CW has drawn 40 million total viewers to its broadcasts and posted five straight quarters of year-over-year growth. Sports now sit at the heart of its plan to turn profitable by 2026.

Miami-USF is the reward for that patience. It’s a ranked showdown with genuine national stakes, not just filler programming.

Technically, the most-watched football broadcast in the network’s lineage might still be the San Francisco Demons–Los Angeles Xtreme XFL opener in 2001 on UPN, depending on how loosely you define “The CW.” But for all practical purposes, Saturday’s game could become the biggest football broadcast in CW history.

The network’s college football coverage has already embodied its scrappy, opportunistic identity. But Miami-USF feels different. It’s a chance to prove The CW belongs in the broader conversation about college football’s media landscape. No one expects it to rival ESPN or Fox for marquee matchups. But a strong showing here would validate The CW’s approach—building credibility one meaningful, mid-tier game at a time.

For the network, surpassing that 1.33 million viewer mark would be more than just a ratings milestone. It would confirm that betting on live sports is paying off, and that The CW has found a real foothold in a competitive market.