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ESPN Sees Lowest Audience For Title Game In CFP/BCS Era

Viewership for the lopsided title game was down from the semifinals for the first time in CFP historyGETTY IMAGES

Alabama’s blowout of Ohio State in Monday's CFP title game led to the least-watched college football championship game in the CFP/BCS era, which dates back to '99. The game, which Alabama led 35-17 at halftime, averaged 18.7 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. The previous low for a championship game in that time span era was '05, when ABC averaged 21.4 million for USC’s 55-19 win over Oklahoma. Last season, LSU-Clemson averaged 25.6 million viewers. The sharp drop for the game comes not only from a lopsided score, but amid continued strong figures for cable news networks covering another possible impeachment. The three CFP games (semifinals and championships) averaged 19.1 viewers, down 13% from last season. The semifinals were down only 2% (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).

NUMBER FALLS BELOW SEMIS: YAHOO SPORTS’ Nick Bromberg noted this is the “first time in playoff history that the title game has had fewer viewers than the semifinals.” The title game audience must be “very disappointing” for ESPN, as Alabama and Ohio State “are seen as two of the biggest draws in college football.” However, it is “indisputable that the audience would be bigger if the game had been competitive in the second half.” The “relatively low number of people watching the championship game caps an underwhelming season of television viewership for college football” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/12).

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