Clemson’s national title over Alabama draws noticeably low TV ratings
By Keith Farner
Published:
There have been some classic national championship game performances in recent years. But in terms of television ratings, Monday’s upset by Clemson over Alabama didn’t measure up with some of the best.
Clemson’s lopsided victory registered a 14.6 overnight rating, which is the lowest for a national championship since Alabama’s 21-0 victory over LSU. Last year’s overnight thriller with Alabama beating Georgia in overtime had a 16.7 rating.
This rating may spark more discussion about a seeming national fatigue of the fourth matchup between the two teams. Or it may have been because of Clemson holding a wide margin in the second half, and Alabama never really mounting a serious threat after halftime as the Tigers outscored the Crimson Tide 13-0 after halftime. It was the largest margin of victory for any college football national championship game since 2005.
Clemson scored four unanswered touchdowns and a field goal in a scoring spree that began early in the second quarter.
Clemson's blowout win over Alabama delivers ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/ESPNews a 14.6 overnight rating. Lowest for a college football national championship since Bama-LSU in 2012 (13.8 just on ESPN). Thriller last year with Bama-Georgia got a 16.7
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) January 8, 2019
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
