Despite avoiding ratings-challenged New Year’s Eve, the College Football Playoff could not overcome a pair of blowouts.
Saturday’s Alabama-Oklahoma Orange Bowl delivered a 9.9 rating and 19.07 million viewers across ESPN and ESPN2, down 13% in ratings and 11% in viewership from Alabama-Clemson in last year’s Sugar Bowl (21.47M). Compared to Clemson-Ohio State in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl, ratings increased a tick (from 9.8) and viewership declined 1% (From 19.24M).
Versus the last Orange Bowl to host a College Football Playoff semifinal, Clemson-Oklahoma in 2015, this year’s game increased 9% and 21% respectively from a 9.1 and 15.73 million.
It was the most-watched Orange Bowl since the 2005 USC-Oklahoma national championship (21.42M). The previous high was 18.56 million for Penn State-Florida State in 2006.
Earlier in the day, the Clemson-Notre Dame Cotton Bowl had a 9.4 and 16.81 million — down 31% in ratings and 38% in viewership from last year’s Georgia-Oklahoma Rose Bowl (13.7, 26.91M) and down 12% and 13% respectively from the 2016 Alabama-Washington Peach Bowl (10.7, 19.34M).
Versus the last Cotton Bowl to host a semifinal, Alabama-Michigan State in 2015, ratings fell 2% and viewership 10% from a 9.6 and 18.64 million.
Of the ten CFP semifinals thus far, the Cotton Bowl ranks as the second-least watched and the Orange Bowl the fourth-least watched.
Both games peaked in the first half. Alabama-Oklahoma topped out at 20.78 million from 8:30-9 PM ET and Clemson-Notre Dame at 18.11 million from 5:30-6 PM.
For the season, the Orange Bowl ranks as the most-watched college football telecast on any network. The previous high was 17.50 million for the Alabama-Georgia SEC Championship Game on CBS. The Orange Bowl ranks third, behind the SEC title game.
Though down from last year, the CFP semifinals still outperformed their closest analogue, the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four. Michigan-Loyola (Chicago) had 13.15 million and Villanova-Kansas 13.09 million on TBS, TNT and TruTV. Excluding the NFL and the Olympics, the Orange Bowl ranks as the fourth-most watched sporting event of 2018. Last season’s Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl and National Championship hold the top three spots.
CFP Semifinal Games, Ranked By Viewership
