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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowOhio State University’s 34-23 victory over the University of Notre Dame in Monday night’s College Football Playoff national championship game in Atlanta was the most-watched game of the season. However, it saw a double-digit drop in viewers from last year’s title match.
ESPN announced Wednesday that the Buckeyes’ second national championship in the CFP era averaged 22.1 million viewers. It was the most-watched non-NFL sporting event over the past year, but a 12% drop from the 25 million who tuned in for the University of Michigan’s 34-13 victory over the University of Washington in 2024.
It was the third-lowest audience of the 11 CFP title games, with all three occurring in the past five years. The audience peaked at 26.1 million viewers during the second quarter (8:30-8:45 p.m.) when the game was tied at 7-7.
Since Alabama’s 26-23 overtime victory over Georgia in 2018, the last seven title games have had an average margin of victory of 25.4 points. Ohio State had a 31-7 lead midway through the third quarter before Notre Dame rallied to get within one possession with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
Georgia’s 65-7 rout of Texas Christian University in 2023 was the least-viewed title game (17.2 million) followed by Alabama’s 52-24 win over Ohio State in 2021 (18.7 million). The first title game in 2015—the Buckeyes’ 42-20 victory over Oregon—remains the most-watched college football game by viewers in the CFP era according to Nielsen, at 33.9 million.
This was the first year of the 12-team field. The first round averaged 10.6 million viewers and the quarterfinals averaged 16.9 million. The semifinals averaged 19.2 million, a 17% decline from last year. Both semifinal games in 2024 though were played on Jan. 1. Michigan’s OT victory over Alabama in the Rose Bowl drew a bigger audience (27.7 million) than the Wolverines’ win in the title game.
CFP games ended up being nine of the 10 most-viewed this season. Georgia’s OT win over Texas in the SEC championship on ABC/ESPN was sixth at 16.6 million.
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Did anyone consider that viewership might be down because it was on ESPN? A local station might have led to more viewers.
Ah yes, Monday night, the perfect time to captivate America’s undivided attention—except for that minor historical distraction known as “Trump’s Epic Inauguration Party: Second Term Edition.” With an estimated 24.6 million viewers and the most ever streamed video on X, formerly Twitter, with 6.8 million views. Who wouldn’t want to miss nail-biting political commentary for some good old-fashioned gridiron glory? I’m sure ESPN was thrilled about their timing.
I mean, what’s a mere 22.1 million viewers compared to the wall-to-wall coverage of inaugural handshakes, MAGA ball gowns, and—let’s not forget—the crowd counting controversy! The game tried, though. Peaking at 26.1 million viewers in the second quarter, it still couldn’t match the raw suspense of the cable news networks measuring crowd sizes, counting the confetti cannons, or watching every move in order to start their next phony outrage (i.e. Elon thanking the crowd with a hand over the his heart and throwing it out there).
Also, let’s not brush past that little “historical” trend: another championship game, another double-digit viewer drop. Apparently, “close-but-not-really games” and predictable blowouts have the magnetic draw of a wet paper towel. It’s truly no wonder Georgia’s 65-7 snore-fest against TCU in 2023 managed to pull even fewer eyeballs. Monday nights really are the graveyard of grand sporting events, unless, of course, it involves a Manning sibling breaking records or Tom Brady unretiring again.
So here’s to Ohio State and ESPN—may you someday find an audience immune to political inaugurations, mid-week fatigue, and predictable halftime leads. But hey, at least you still beat last week’s bowling tournament on ESPN3!