Deion Sanders’s impact on Colorado football’s TV viewership, known as the “Prime Effect,” is noticeably diminishing as the Buffaloes head into the 2026 season. Once a major draw due to Sanders’s coaching presence and star players like Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, the team’s national TV appeal has waned following a disappointing 3–9 record in 2025. Major sports networks such as ABC/ESPN, Fox Sports/FS1, and TNT Sports/truTV have seen a consistent decline in audience interest, especially if the team struggles again early in the season.

The numbers highlight this trend clearly. In the 2023 season, when Sanders took over, Colorado games averaged 6.1 million viewers on ESPN. That dropped to 3.4 million in 2024 and has fallen further to 2 million in 2025 across seven ESPN broadcasts, marking a 67% decrease over three years. Fox’s platforms have shown a smaller but similar decline, averaging 4.7 million viewers over three seasons on its broadcast channel and 3.8 million combined across Fox and FS1. This decline coincides with Colorado’s fall in competitiveness and national relevance.

Colorado’s 2026 TV schedule already reflects the shift in interest, with fewer games nationally televised compared to previous seasons. So far, only two games are slated for ESPN, one is set for ESPN+, and Fox or FS1 will air another, a significant reduction from the 13 nationally televised games in their 9–4 season in 2024. The Buffaloes are projected to finish near the bottom of the Big 12 this year, reinforcing skepticism about their drawing power and remaining limited to a less extensive TV presence.

Despite these setbacks, Deion Sanders’s profile as a Hall of Fame coach and NFL legend still offers some appeal to broadcasters, and he could potentially revitalize the program. However, the preseason outlook is bleak with Colorado ranked 15th out of 16 in Big 12 media polls and unranked nationally by the Associated Press. Sanders also faces personal distractions, including a subpoena related to his son’s bankruptcy trial. ESPN and Fox have declined to comment, while TNT awaits further Big 12 scheduling details as the new season approaches.