Alabama-OSU was least-watched title game in BCS and Playoff era
The national championship football game between Alabama and Ohio State on Monday, which saw the Crimson Tide dominate the Buckeyes 52-24, will go down in the history books as one of the least watched title games ever.
ESPN announced that the game drew 18.7 million viewers total, the smallest audience for a title game in 23 years.
According to Sports Media Watch, the game was the least watched in the College Football Playoff (2014-present) and Bowl Championship Series (19982013) era. It also was a 27% decline from last year’s national championship game between Clemson and LSU. Both of this season’s College Football Playoff semifinal games drew larger numbers (19.2 million for Ohio State-Clemson and 18.9 million for Alabama-Notre Dame), the first that’s happened with a semifinal in BCS/CFP history, according to Sports Media Watch.
By comparison, the previous six title matchups averaged about 27.6 million viewers, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
According to Sports Media Watch, the previous low for a BCS or CFP title game was 21.4 million, when Southern California dispatched Oklahoma in 2005.
ESPN said the combined College Football Playoff semifinal and championship games were “cable’s best telecasts” and the “best non-NFL sporting events across all networks” since last year’s college football title game.