Orlando Bowl Games Shine in Record Bowl Season

Florida Citrus Sports’ two bowl games delivered on the national stage this postseason, as the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl and Pop-Tarts Bowl helped power one of the strongest bowl seasons in more than a decade.

Image Credit: ESPN Press Room

The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl finished as the most-watched non-College Football Playoff game of the entire bowl season and outrated two of the CFP’s first-round playoff games. The matchup averaged 9.1 million viewers on ABC and peaked at approximately 15 million viewers, marking the Citrus Bowl’s highest television audience since the 2019 season. The game stood out nationally as appointment viewing during a busy New Year’s Eve window and reinforced the Citrus Bowl’s position as one of college football’s premier postseason events during its milestone 80th year.

The Pop-Tarts Bowl followed closely behind with another standout performance. The game averaged 8.7 million viewers and peaked near 10 million viewers, making it the most-watched edition of the bowl since 1991. In just a few short years, the Pop-Tarts Bowl has rapidly emerged as one of the most compelling and nationally visible bowl games, driven by strong matchups, creative branding and memorable moments, including an in-game presentation that featured six mascots vying to be toasted by the champions.

Together, the two Orlando games ranked among the most-watched college football games of the entire season and played a key role in a postseason slate that delivered the strongest overall non-CFP viewership since 2015-16. Airing on ABC and drawing massive national audiences — in addition to tens of thousands of fans in the stands — both games showcased Orlando’s continued ability to host marquee events that resonate with fans across the country.