It’s almost impossible these days to talk about college football without talking about the impact of television.

From conference realignment to massive TV deals to new broadcasters, it has become an ingrained factor in the future of the sport, and everyone has an opinion. As part of our midseason look at the 2023 season, we put together the second annual college football TV survey for readers last week. More than 3,100 of you responded on topics from broadcasters, ESPN vs. Fox, and more. Here are the results.

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Network comparisons

What network do you prefer for national game broadcasts?

ESPN/ABC: 57.7 percent
CBS: 20.3 percent
Fox/FS1: 18.3 percent
NBC: 3.7 percent

ESPN remains at the top, with a share almost exactly equal to last year’s results, followed by CBS, Fox (with the same percentage as last year) and NBC. The choice of NBC for this question is new this year, adding a weekly Big Ten prime-time game to its Notre Dame games, and its percentage only cut into CBS’ share from our readers.

Some reader comments:

“College football lives on ESPN.”

“I chose NBC because they are better at focusing on the actual game.”

“ESPN’s ticker and scoreboard taking up a massive percentage of the screen is an abomination. ESPN also has a major problem zooming in and not showing the full line of scrimmage/receivers as well as tight shots to players between plays. Show us the game!”

“I wish the Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12 would pressure Fox to end these terrible remote broadcasts, they’re clearly not bowing to public and media scrutiny.”

What is your favorite conference network for games?

Big Ten Network: 41.3 percent
SEC Network: 39.8 percent
ACC Network: 11.5 percent
Pac-12 Network: 7.5 percent

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How would you rate the quality of NBC’s Big Ten prime-time broadcasts this year? (1 = hate it, 5 = love it)

1: 3.2 percent
2: 11.6 percent
3: 42.2 percent
4: 35.7 percent
5: 7.4 percent

These results are quite positive. NBC has done a good job of making its Big Ten games feel like a big deal, with the broadcast quality and pregame show. The problem is the slate has been quite rough, featuring games like Iowa-Michigan State and Maryland-Charlotte. NBC has put bigger games on Peacock, like Washington-Michigan State and Ohio State-Purdue this past weekend.

As one reader reacted, “Maybe it’s just a one-year thing and it will change with Big Ten expansion in 2024, but I can’t believe how weak the selection of games have been for NBC so far this year when you consider how much they are paying.”

What is your favorite broadcast announcer team?

Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit (ABC): 38.3 percent
Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt (Fox): 21.9 percent
Brad Nessler and Gary Danielson (CBS): 12.1 percent
Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy (ESPN): 10.2 percent
Bob Wischusen and Robert Griffin III (ESPN): 3.1 percent
Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge (NBC): 3 percent
Joe Tessitore and Jesse Palmer (ESPN): 2.9 percent
Jason Benetti and Brock Huard (Fox): 2.7 percent
Tim Brando and Spencer Tillman (Fox): 1.5 percent
Mark Jones and Louis Riddick (ESPN): 1.1 percent
Tom Hart and Jordan Rodgers (SEC): 1 percent
All others: Less than 1 percent

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The top four results here are the same as last year, with ABC’s top team, followed by Fox’s top team, followed by CBS’ top team, followed by Sean McDonough and his partner (Greg McElroy this year, Todd Blackledge last year). I guess that means the networks know what they’re doing with their talent.

Some reader comments:

“Gus Johnson/Joel Klatt and Chris Fowler/Kirk Herbstreit are 1A and 1B in terms of calling games. Both are excellent broadcasts every time.”

“Notre Dame needs a better crew than (Jac) Collinsworth doing an impression of his dad and (Jason) Garrett having zero charisma.”

“I picked Fowler/Herbstreit for favorite announcer crew but shoutout, Dave Flemming.”

Who is your favorite college football TV analyst?

Kirk Herbstreit (ESPN): 35.1 percent
Joel Klatt (Fox): 14.8 percent
Todd Blackledge (NBC): 6 percent
Greg McElroy (ESPN): 5.9 percent
Robert Griffin III (NBC): 5.7 percent
Pat McAfee (ESPN): 4.1 percent
Dan Orlovsky (ESPN): 3.3 percent
Rick Neuheisel (CBS): 3.1 percent
Cole Cubelic (SEC): 2.5 percent
Paul Finebaum (ESPN): 2.2 percent
Desmond Howard (ESPN): 2.2 percent
Brady Quinn (Fox): 2.1 percent
Brock Huard (Fox): 2.1 percent
Lee Corso (ESPN): 2 percent
Urban Meyer (Fox): 1.4 percent
Jesse Palmer (ESPN): 1.3 percent
Marcus Spears (ESPN): 1.1 percent
All others: Less than 1 percent

Herbstreit remains the favorite in a deep field, and Klatt comes in a distant second. Notably, last year’s No. 3 was David Pollack at ESPN, but Pollack was part of ESPN’s summer layoffs. This year’s No. 3 is Blackledge, who got less than 1 percent of votes last year, but 6 percent of votes this year. Similarly, RG3 rose from less than 1 percent to 5.7 percent.

Others who received votes included Marty Smith, Yogi Roth, Ross Tucker, Spencer Hall, Dan Mullen, Josh Pate, Petros Papadakis, Laura Rutledge, Jake Butt, Danny Kannell, Eric Mac Lain, Jordan Rodgers, Emmanuel Acho and Spencer Tillman.

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Some reader comments:

“I really enjoy games when RGIII and Greg McElroy do color commentary. Jesse Palmer and Joey Galloway are criminally underrated as analysts when they do desk work like after the CFP rankings show.”

“The best thing to happen to college football TV broadcasts in the last couple years, by far, is Robert Griffin III. The perfect blend of analysis, relatability, humor and talent in a booth.”

Do you prefer ESPN’s “College GameDay” or Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff”?

“College GameDay”: 77 percent
“Big Noon Kickoff”: 23 percent

The king remains the king. Last year, “GameDay” had an 82-18 edge. This year, it’s a bit closer. But it’s not all rosy …

How do you feel about Pat McAfee on “College Gameday”?

Like it: 30.1 percent
Don’t like it: 48.9 percent
No opinion: 21 percent

The most polarizing question of the survey, about one of the most polarizing people in sports media today. ESPN has gone all in on McAfee with his weekly show broadcast and “GameDay” spot. Last summer, when readers were asked who should replace Lee Corso when the time came, McAfee was the leading vote-getter, although it was a plurality and not a majority. But I’ve anecdotally seen a lot of complaints from friends and fans. The entire show’s mini-feud with Washington State about Lee Corso’s comments and the response from McAfee and Howard rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way, too, and led “Big Noon Kickoff” to open its arms to a Washington State flag a few weeks ago.

All that said, ratings are mostly up for “GameDay,” with three episodes above 2.1 million viewers so far. The episode from Colorado was the show’s best September viewership since 2010. Is it because of the quality of the game locations? Deion Sanders? McAfee? Probably a mix of all of it.

Some reader comments:

“I don’t watch Gameday anymore solely because of Pat McAfee. I think he’s an embarrassment to ESPN and a major knock on whatever credibility they have left.”

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“I think Pat McAfee adds a great energy to GameDay and I don’t understand the hate for him at all.”

“Pat McAfee is being over-utilized and I’m not sure he has a distinct enough point of view to stick in people’s minds. Orlovsky is excellent with analysis but in danger of over-exposure, as well.”

“While I’m not a big McAfee fan, it far outweighs watching anything involving Urban Meyer.”

Do you watch pregame shows more or less than you used to?

More: 8.4 percent
Less: 63.3 percent
No change: 28.3 percent

This is where we say this survey was not scientific polling. More than 60 percent of respondents said they watch fewer pregame shows than they used to. But the TV ratings this year would indicate things are still quite strong.

Conference realignment

Do you believe TV networks are biased toward certain conferences?

Yes: 82.7 percent
No: 17.3 percent

Do you believe TV networks play an active role in driving conference realignment?

Yes: 95.5 percent
No: 4.5 percent

Can’t say I’m surprised by these results. A year ago, the bias question drew the same numbers. But the question about driving realignment has risen from 87 percent yes last year to almost 96 percent this year, no question a result of the Pac-12’s demise.

Whether you want to cast blame on networks, school presidents or other parties, it’s obvious that concerns about network bias and invisible hands permeate everywhere throughout the sport. And fans don’t like hearing analysts on these networks lament realignment when it’s TV money that is feeding it.

Some reader comments:

“I will always despise Fox and ESPN for destroying the Pac-12.”

“TV money is clearly the driving factor behind realignment, and the chase for money is going to ultimately harm the sport. It will be a slow hurt, but it will hurt college football.”

“Announcers seem to be getting more biased towards certain teams than ever before.”

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Viewing habits

What form of TV do you typically use to watch college football?

Cable: 37.2 percent
YouTube TV: 37.1 percent
Hulu + Live TV: 8 percent
DirecTV Stream: 5.2 percent
Antenna: 2.8 percent
Fubo: 2.3 percent
Sling: 2.2 percent
All others: Less than 1 percent

Have you paid for a streaming-only service (like ESPN+ or Peacock) specifically to watch college football?

No: 61.5 percent
Yes: 38.5 percent

Nearly an equal amount of you watch on cable/satellite as do on YouTube TV. I’m not sure whether that’s bad news for cable (more than 60 million homes), good news for YouTube TV (6.3 million users) or just the result of this being an online survey. Cable being less than a majority of viewership is a major shift in viewing habits from even a few years ago.

But crossing into paying for streaming-only games remains a hurdle. It’s a flip from last year when 63 percent of respondents said they would pay for a service like ESPN+ for games. Now, a majority say they don’t, even though many top programs play at least one streaming-only game now.

Some reader comments:

“Switching between linear and streaming while watching multiple games is absolutely painful. Plus paying to watch college football (Peacock) while paying for cable is infuriating.”

“Waited my whole life to get an opportunity for my favorite team to play at Notre Dame and be broadcast on NBC with all the exposure that would bring to the program. Then it’s flipped to Peacock, and all the exposure vanishes. Nothing personal against streaming platforms in the general sense, but I will never, ever watch a game or any other program on Peacock as long as I live.”

“YouTube TV’s multi-view is awesome. Hopefully, they’re close to allowing the viewer to select all four streams. It’s my favorite way to watch on a college football Saturday, but I’m currently constrained to their preselected combinations of games.”

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How many hours of college football coverage do you typically watch on a Saturday?

Less than 4 hours: 9.2 percent
4-8 hours: 55 percent
8-12 hours: 28.6 percent
More than 12 hours: 7.2 percent

How often do you typically watch a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday Group of 5 game?

At least once per week: 30.8 percent
One per month: 30 percent
Rarely, if ever: 39.2 percent

How do you feel about the length of college football game broadcasts?

Too long: 48 percent
Too short: 5.2 percent
No opinion: 46.8 percent

Do games feel longer or shorter this year?

Longer: 18.9 percent
Shorter: 27 percent
No difference: 54.1 percent

What’s your biggest problem with watching college football on TV?

Too many commercials/too long: 70 percent
Too hard to change between games: 10.6 percent
Poor broadcast quality/announcers: 7.9 percent
Too expensive: 4 percent
Too many games: 2.1 percent
All others: Less than 1 percent

A good number of fans believe games are too long. But they almost all agree the problem is too many commercials. A few weeks ago, we wrote about the impact of the new first-down clock rule, which is working as hoped, removing about six plays per game and six real-time minutes per game. We also looked at how TV timeouts work and how commercials have not increased in recent years. Still, it remains the chief complaint from fans.

Some reader comments:

“Keep working to shorten the length of the games. Some progress. Still room to go.”

“Commercials are making it tough to casually watch games. While commercial time is steady, the length of games is shorter, so commercials make up a higher percentage of the broadcast (also, we’re bombarded with ads during the game with promos and on the bottom of the screen).”

Have you ever decided against attending a game in person because of the TV experience at home?

Yes: 39.6 percent
No: 60.4 percent

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Year to year, this is a notable drop, as the number of fans who said TV quality led them to stay at home rose from 30 percent last year to almost 40 percent this year. Perhaps this is an unscientific anomaly, as college football attendance rose last year for the first time in eight years.

If you could have any college football play-by-play announcer in history call your team’s game, who would it be?

Keith Jackson: 42.2 percent
Brent Musburger: 10.8 percent
Verne Lundquist: 9.6 percent
Gus Johnson: 8.4 percent
Al Michaels: 5 percent
Chris Fowler: 5 percent
Larry Munson: 3.2 percent
Mike Tirico: 3.1 percent
Dick Enberg: 1.9 percent
Ron Franklin: 1.7 percent
Sean McDonough: 1.6 percent
Ian Eagle: 1.3 percent
Brad Nessler: 1.3 percent
Joe Tessitore: 1.1 percent
Lindsey Nelson: 1 percent
All others: Less than 1 percent

Other suggestions included Rece Davis, Bob Wischusen, Mike Patrick (“What is Britney doing with her life?”), Vin Scully, Bob Ufer, Kevin Harlan, Ernie Harwell, Eli Gold, Adam Amin, Howard Cosell and Jim Ross.

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(Top photo: Peter Joneleit / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)