Report: In spite of thrilling game, national title game viewership numbers down from last season
By Nick Cole
Published:
What college football fan would have chosen to not tune in for last night’s national title game?
It had it all: Star players, big plays, dramatic fourth quarter and a reason to stay glued to the television set until the final whistle.
But, apparently, viewers were not as interested in this one as they were in last year’s game between Ohio State and Oregon:
Source: Last night's CFP championship game pulled a 15.8 overnight rating on ESPN, down 15 percent from last year.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) January 12, 2016
Part of the reason for the decline in ratings could be that Alabama and Clemson are from the same general region of the country, making it more of a regional draw than a national one.
As more of the specifics come out about the overnight ratings, it will be interesting to see the factors that led to the decline.
There was, however, a bit of positive news for the broadcast company to take away from its diversified products:
Source: Last night's CFP championship game saw WatchESPN post a record high number for a non World Cup game.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) January 12, 2016
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
