In the world of college football, viewership numbers are almost as eagerly anticipated as the games themselves. The recent College Football Playoff (CFP) first round brought a mix of highs and lows.
Some matchups hit record numbers, while others just didn’t land. The contrast in these numbers gives us a glimpse into how fans tune in, especially with blowouts and competing broadcasts in the mix.
Record Highs and Lows in College Football Playoff Viewership
The first round of the College Football Playoff saw both record-breaking and disappointing viewership. On ESPN, the Alabama-Oklahoma and Miami-Texas A&M games drew the most viewers for a first-round CFP game ever.
The Alabama-Oklahoma game, which aired Friday night, pulled in 14.9 million viewers. Miami-Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon wasn’t far behind, with 14.8 million viewers.
Both landed in the top six most-watched college football games of the season. That’s a big deal for ESPN.
The Impact of Blowouts on Viewership
But not every game was a hit. The blowouts involving Group of Five teams on TNT just didn’t attract the same attention.
Tulane-Ole Miss averaged 6.2 million viewers, and James Madison-Oregon dropped even lower with 4.4 million viewers. Compared to the ESPN matchups, those numbers are pretty tough to swallow.
Competing Broadcasts: NFL vs. CFP
One major factor in the lower viewership for some CFP games? The NFL. NFL games airing at the same time saw big jumps in their own numbers.
The Packers-Browns game averaged 21.34 million viewers, up a whopping 39% from the same window last year. Eagles-Commanders averaged 15.46 million viewers, which is 8% higher than last year.
Comparative Analysis of Viewership
Even though the CFP games on TNT didn’t match ESPN’s numbers, they were still TNT’s most-watched college football games of the year. That’s not nothing, especially since this was TNT’s first year carrying Big 12 games.
For context, no regular-season game on TNT even cracked 1 million viewers. So, despite the lower Group of Five numbers, they still outperformed the rest of TNT’s college football slate.
Overall Viewership Trends
The first round of the College Football Playoff averaged 9.9 million viewers across all four games. That’s a 9% drop from last year.
Considering Nielsen’s new Big Data methodology, which tends to bump sports numbers up, the decline probably stings a bit more than it looks on paper.
Future Implications for College Football Playoffs
Looking forward, some changes are coming for the College Football Playoff format. A new agreement will guarantee conference champions from Power 4 conferences get automatic bids to the CFP.
This aims to prevent situations like this year, where Duke won the ACC but didn’t make the CFP because it was ranked below James Madison. With this in place, it’s pretty unlikely that TNT will end up airing two Group of Five teams next year.
That could mean more competitive, higher-viewership games. Maybe that’s exactly what college football needs right now.
The Evolving Landscape of College Football Broadcasts
Recent viewership trends in the College Football Playoff show just how much sports broadcasts are changing. High-profile matchups still pull in big audiences.
But when games turn into blowouts, or there are other broadcasts competing for attention, viewership can really take a hit. The format for the CFP is set to change soon, and honestly, that’ll probably shake things up.
If you’re curious and want more details, check out the full article on Awful Announcing.
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