Ryan Day led the Ohio State Buckeyes to a 34-23 win against Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday night in the CFP national championship game. On Wednesday, ESPN announced that 22.1 million viewers witnessed the highly anticipated game.
It was the most-watched matchup of the season. However, this figure represents a decline from last year’s title game, which drew 25.05 million viewers for the Michigan vs. Washington matchup.
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The 12% decrease in the title game viewership has got many college football fans talking. A host of them believe the decrease was caused by the increased number of games in the expanded format, while others cite the series of events on the day as a factor.
“Too many games. Viewer fatigue. It’s the truth nobody wants to hear. It was exciting the first 8 games of the playoffs,” a fan said.
Other reaction to the viewership drop:
“It’s a Monday night = Bowling leagues, kids spring practices and or games, Dart leagues, did I mention bowling Leagues?” a fan wrote.
“I think Michigan and Washington are flat out more likable programs than Ohio State and Notre Dame. OSU and ND have huge fan bases obviously, but even more loathe them. Just reality,” another fan wrote.
“No shocker here… combined 3 loss teams, playoff too long, and bad timing,” a fan commented.
“It’s too drawn out. Need to start the whole thing a week earlier and for fucks sake just have it on a Saturday night,” another fan commented.
Possible factors responsible for the decrease in CFP championship game viewership
Several factors contributed to the 12% decline in viewership for this year’s College Football Playoff national championship game.
The expanded playoff format may have diluted interest, as more games were played and the championship extended beyond the second week of January.
Additionally, this year’s game coincided with Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the inauguration of President Donald Trump, creating a busy day for viewers.
National viewership may have also been impacted by the geographic proximity of the two competing teams. Notre Dame‘s campus in South Bend, Indiana, is less than 300 miles from Ohio State‘s campus in Columbus, Ohio, limiting the regional diversity of the fanbases.
Nonetheless, the drop in the viewership numbers does not indicate that the first year of the expanded CFP format was unsuccessful. It witnessed a significant number of viewers right from the first round.
Edited by Ribin Peter
