The audience for Monday’s nail-biting College Football Playoff National Championship was huge. How could it not be? Clemson beat Alabama 35-31 in the very final second. It’s already being called one of the most memorable college games ever.
Sure enough, more than 26 million total viewers tuned in on various ESPN streaming and TV platforms, the network has reported. That includes ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.
But – wait, what? – that was actually down 3 percent compared with last year’s championship game between the same two teams (26.7 million).
What can we say? Ratings are funny things. But it should be pointed out that last year’s Clemson-Bama game was also a heart-pounder. That one was decided with a 24-yard touchdown pass in the final 12 seconds, with Alabama winning 45-40.
When it comes to entertainment value, these teams deliver.
Overall, the three-game College Football Playoff delivered a live-audience average of 22.2 million total viewers, up 9 percent compared with last year.
Looking just at ESPN on TV, the Clemson and Alabama face-off logged 24.4 million total viewers, making it the No. 8 cable telecast of all time in total viewers.
Monday’s game, impressive as it was, was far behind the No. 1 cable record held by the Oregon-Ohio State championship, which drew 33.4 million total viewers.
9 Reasons Why NFL TV Ratings Might Be Down This Year (Photos)
After years of ratings dominance, viewing of NFL games on TV this season is down by 12 percent. But why? Click on to see some possible reasons.
Donald Trump The GOP nominee has impacted everything else, so why not football? Fans have understandably had a hard time paying attention to the game during this crazy White House campaign.
Peyton Manning The legendary QB has retired, depriving the NFL of one of its most recognizable faces.
Chicago Cubs Yep, as Cubs fan Bill Murray knows, the baseball team's fantasy journey from perennial losers to the World Series has been this fall's Cinderella story. Kinda makes football look puny in comparison.
Colin Kaepernick His principled refusal to stand for the national anthem has turned into a cause celebre that has polarized fans and generated bad PR for the NFL.
Thursday Night Football Hey, who (aside from New Englanders) wants to see the Patriots score a 27-0 blowout against the Texans? Didn't think so. Hardcore fans are complaining about the lousy match-ups on this season's schedule.
Ray Rice He may not play anymore, but the former running back is the symbol of ongoing domestic-violence scandals that have soured many fans on the sport.
NFL RedZone A lot of fans have gotten hooked on the special NFL-owned, game-day exclusive RedZone channel, hosted by Hanson. Unfortunately, that might mean lower ratings for broadcast partners.
Brett Favre Fan concern has steadily increased about the health effects on pros who took repeated hard hits during their career. Former QB Favre even said that his occasional memory lapses scared him and convinced him not to come out of retirement again. The worry has led to special game rules that some fans say has made the games boring.
Roger Goodell He may be "the most powerful man in sports," but the NFL commissioner has taken a lot of flak lately over issues from domestic violence to Deflategate - including from league owners, three of whom told The Daily Caller this year that it was time for a replacement.
