Florida State football has long been renowned for its strong television ratings and brand value within the country and the Atlantic Coast Conference. However, the 2024 season presented a unique challenge as the Seminoles faced historic struggles. Despite a dismal 2-10 record and their worst season in 50 years, they still managed to feature in two of the most-watched ACC regular-season games according to Nielsen viewership.

Affirming the Nation's Strongest Brand

FSU Vice President and Athletics Director Michael Alford emphasized the significance of their brand. "This affirms what we've known all along – we have one of the nation's strongest brands. We are part of a select group of collegiate athletics brands that have this sustainable strength. The fact that this occurred during a very difficult season only confirms that Florida State is one of the elite brands in collegiate athletics."

The Season-Opening Victory

The Seminoles' season opener against Georgia Tech in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, Ireland, on August 24th was a remarkable event. The Yellow Jackets' 24-21 victory on a game-winning field goal with no time left attracted nearly 5 million viewers on ESPN. This game not only became the most-watched league game of the season but also ranked fifth among Week Zero and Week 1 games, trailing only USC-LSU (8.62 million), Notre Dame-Texas A&M (7.92 million), Clemson-Georgia (7.58 million), and Miami-Florida (6.35 million). The following week on Labor Day night, their home opener against Boston College attracted 4.4 million viewers. These two games became the most-watched regular-season games between ACC members in 2024. Additionally, only one other ACC regular-season game attracted more than 4 million viewers (Miami vs. Louisville, 4.07 million viewers).

ACC Struggles and FSU's Standout

Overall, the ACC faced difficulties with viewership as the league was often relegated to secondary slots by ESPN due to FSU's freefall. They finished last in the 17-team ACC standings at 1-7. The ACC championship between Clemson and SMU attracted 5.98 million viewers, ranking fourth behind Georgia-Texas (16.63 million) of the SEC, Oregon-Penn State (10.50 million) of the Big Ten, and Arizona State-Iowa State (5.98 million) of the Big 12. SMU, which finished its inaugural season in the ACC undefeated in league games, played in only one regular-season game that attracted more than 1 million viewers. Despite FSU's ongoing lawsuit against the ACC and their search for an affordable way to exit the conference, citing a disadvantage in their media deal compared to schools in the SEC and Big Ten, their brand strength and television ratings still remained formidable during this horrible season. As Alford said, "We inherited that (sustainable) strength from those that built it, and it's our obligation to continue to earn it by performing to an elite standard in all facets of our program – competition, academics, service to our community and our commitment to an unparalleled student-athlete experience."