<p>The college football national championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame on Monday was the third-lowest-rated national championship game since the beginning of the College Football Playoff (CFP) era, which goes back to 2014.</p>
<p>An average of 22.1 million viewers tuned in to <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/43525435/cfp-title-game-most-watched-season-viewership-down" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN</a> to watch the Buckeyes win over the Fighting Irish, a 12% drop from last year&#8217;s national championship game between Michigan and Washington that was watched by an average of 25 million people. Only the 2021 national championship game — which came at the end of a season that saw many canceled games due to the COVID pandemic — and the 2023 championship game between Georgia and TCU — which ended in a historic blowout — had <a href="https://saturdayblitz.com/declining-tv-ratings-for-college-football-playoff-national-title-should-be-reason-for-concern" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worse ratings</a> than this year&#8217;s championship game.</p>
<p>The lower ratings for college football&#8217;s biggest game came on the back of the first 12-team CFP, a massive expansion from the sport&#8217;s previous four-team playoff. The drop in ratings this year is surprising since the championship game featured two historically successful teams with large markets. According to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/19/college-sports-programs-valuations.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNBC</a>, Ohio State is the most valuable college sports program in the country with Notre Dame close behind at #6. The schools&#8217; large fan bases combined with the expanded playoff format, however, didn&#8217;t resonate with viewers as championship games have in the past.</p>
<p>Another factor that could&#8217;ve affected viewership on Monday night was the inauguration and immediate actions of President Donald Trump, which drew many people to Fox News and other news networks throughout the day.</p>
<p>Ohio State jumped out to a big lead in the third quarter when they went up 31-7, but Notre Dame crawled their way back into the game late in the fourth quarter. The TV audience for the game peaked during the second quarter at 26.1 million viewers when the game was a 7-7 tie, according to ESPN.</p>
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<p>While the expanded playoffs added more games this year — and, therefore, more viewers compared to last year — the 2025 semifinals averaged just 19.2 million viewers, which was a 17% drop from last year&#8217;s semifinal games.</p>
<p>Outkick founder Clay Travis <a href="https://x.com/ClayTravis/status/1882204137842201046" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suggested</a> that college football&#8217;s ratings are down for big games because the sport needs to do a better job lifting the ceiling for its &#8220;potential audience.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Just 22.1 million viewers watched Ohio State-Notre Dame, the third lowest playoff title game viewership on record. Truly awful number given expansion to 12 playoff teams. The title game was played on Monday night as they all have been in playoff era. So why the tiny number?&#8221; he asked. &#8220;My best theory, as someone who loves CFB, the ceiling needs to be lifted for potential audience. 100 million watch every Super Bowl. The CFB ceiling appears to be roughly 30 million right now no matter who plays. How does potential audience expand? And why is CFB so much lower than NFL? What is NFL doing, in other words to grow and sell its game to the general public so much better?&#8221;</p>

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‘Truly Awful Number’: CFB National Championship Sees Big Ratings Drop After Playoff Expansion

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‘Truly Awful Number’: CFB National Championship Sees Big Ratings Drop After Playoff Expansion