Major college football bowl ratings dating back to the start of the BCS. College Football Playoff ratings information includes streaming viewership where available.
Since the start of the BCS in 1999, no game has had a higher rating (21.7) or more viewers (35.6M) than the 2006 Rose Bowl between Texas and USC. Second on that list is the first national championship of the CFP era, Ohio State-Oregon in 2015 (18.6, 34.1M).
The lowest rated and least-watched national championship of the BCS/CFP era was Georgia’s 58-point win over TCU in 2023, with an 8.7 rating and 17.22 million viewers. The four least-watched national title games of this era have each been decided by at least three touchdowns. 2023 marked the second time in three years — but just the second time in the history of the CFP — that the national title game averaged fewer viewers than one or both semifinals.
2023 also saw the least-watched BCS or CFP-affiliated bowl game overall as 4.17 million viewers tuned in for the Tulane-USC Cotton Bowl. On a more positive note, the 2023 semifinals were the two most-watched in five years.
The complete Sports Media Watch college football ratings chart, which includes all regular season games dating back to 2012, is available here.
College Football Playoff Ratings History (2014-present)
* Out-of-home viewing was not included in Nielsen viewership estimates in 2019 or prior years.
** Out-of-home viewing was undercounted in the 2020-21 season.
Bowl Championship Series ratings history (1998-2013)
(Nielsen estimates from various sources, including network PR, ShowBuzz Daily and Programming Insider)
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