CFP Semifinal Ratings Slide As Blueblood Programs Exit Early

The viewership momentum for the College Football Playoff came to a crashing halt during the semifinals, as both games showed viewership attrition from last year. 

ESPN said the Jan. 8 Fiesta Bowl between Miami and Ole Miss, won by the Hurricanes, drew an average of 15.8 million viewers. That’s down 11% from the comparable Thursday night CFP semifinal last year, a Notre Dame win in the Orange Bowl over Penn State.

The Jan. 9 Peach Bowl between Indiana and Oregon, won by the Hoosiers in a rout, recorded an average of 18 million viewers. That trails the comparable Friday night CFP semifinal last year, an Ohio State win over Texas, by 13%. 

Overall, this season’s CFP viewership, which had been up 3% from a year ago after a particularly robust quarterfinal round, is now even with last year, with an average of 14.9 million viewers per game. 

Big Names Missing

The primary issue with the CFP viewership trends appears to be a lack of college football programs with widespread national appeal that have advanced in the tournament. Alabama, the most-watched college football team in the regular season with a per-game viewership average of nearly 8.5 million viewers, was knocked out in the quarterfinal round by Indiana. 

That game between the Crimson Tide and Hoosiers averaged 23.9 million viewers on New Year’s Day—and it remains the most-watched game of not only this year’s CFP but any game in the event’s 12-team era. 

Texas, No. 2 in regular-season viewership, was left out of the field entirely over the strident objections of the Longhorns. Georgia and Ohio State, the third- and fourth-most-watched teams, respectively, were also eliminated in the quarterfinals. 

Uncertain Forecast

Looking forward, the likelihood of an overall decrease for this year’s CFP is rising. The Indiana-Miami matchup on Jan. 19 has been a massive one on the ground already, fueling record-level pricing on the ticket resale market. Neither team, however, ranked among the 10 most-watched college football teams during the regular season, and the matchup will have a somewhat tough comparison from last year’s game that included Ohio State and Notre Dame—two particularly popular bluebloods in the sport.

That CFP title game last year drew an average of 22 million, down 12% from the year before. The viewership patterns for the CFP are also veering heavily from those in many pro leagues, which often have more direct increases in each subsequent round of postseason competition. 

The latest viewership declines are also happening despite expansions by Nielsen with its audience measurement processes, notably the arrival last year of Big Data + Panel.