Much like Golden State-Cleveland in the NBA, Clemson-Alabama is starting to wear on the television ratings.
Monday’s Clemson-Alabama College Football Playoff National Championship earned a 14.6 overnight rating on the ESPN family of networks, down 13% from last year (Alabama-Georgia: 16.7) and down 5% from the same matchup in 2017 (15.3).
Versus the first national championship between Clemson and Alabama in 2016, overnights fell 9% from a 16.0. As should be no surprise, overnights increased 17% from last year’s semifinal between the teams (12.5).
Oernight ratings for all three Clemson-Alabama title games have declined from the previous year.
Clemson’s surprising 28-point blowout, which peaked at a 16.2 during the first half, delivered the lowest overnight for college football’s national championship since 2012 (Alabama-LSU: 13.8). It tied Alabama’s 2013 win over Notre Dame as the biggest title game blowout since USC 55, Oklahoma 19 in the 2005 Orange Bowl.
Going back further, the 14.6 overnight is the second-lowest for the title game in the past 15 years, and the fourth-lowest in the history of the CFP and its predecessor the Bowl Championship Series. LSU’s 2004 win over Oklahoma had a 14.4 and Miami’s 2002 win over Nebraska a 14.3.
All three Clemson-Alabama title games rank among the ten lowest rated in the metered markets (21 telecasts total).
Birmingham, Ala., led all markets Monday night with a 56.6 rating — down 2% from last year (57.6), but up 6% from the last Clemson-Alabama title game in 2017 (53.6). Greenville, S.C., ranked second with a 36.9, up 5% from the ’17 game (35.1).
New Orleans was the top neutral market (28.6), followed by Atlanta (25.5) and Knoxville, Tenn. (25.4). Columbus, Ohio, ranked eighth (23.2), and Tulsa, Okla., tenth (20.8). The Buckeyes were left out of the playoff field and the Sooners lost to Alabama in the semifinals.
Lowest CFB National Championship Overnight Ratings
[Numbers from ESPN PR 1.8]
