The College Football Playoff’s first-round ratings slipped 7% last weekend, drawing an average of 9.9 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, TNT, TBS and truTV-down from last year’s 10.5 million, according to ESPN and Nielsen.
Viewership Trends
The overall drop is tied to the distribution of the most watched games. While the opening matchup between Notre Dame and Indiana pulled in 13.4 million, the overall average fell because the final CFP game-James Madison versus Oregon-was carried on TNT, TBS and truTV instead of ABC and ESPN. That shift coincided with a prime-time NFL game, further fragmenting the audience.
The Chicago Bears’ 22-16 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers on Fox commanded 21.3 million viewers, the highest single-game rating for the weekend. In contrast, Oregon’s 51-34 victory over James Madison on the same networks drew only 4.4 million.
Last year’s Ohio State-Tennessee contest on ABC/ESPN averaged 14.3 million and did not compete with an NFL game, illustrating how scheduling can influence numbers.
Impact of Network Distribution
ESPN sublicenses a portion of the CFP to TNT, TBS and truTV. In 2024, those channels carried the final game and the Saturday middle matchup. The Saturday middle game has faced NFL competition for two consecutive years. Philadelphia’s 29-18 win over Washington on Fox attracted 15.5 million viewers, the same audience that tuned into last year’s Pittsburgh-Baltimore game.
The move to Warner Bros. Discovery channels will expand further next year: two quarterfinals and a semifinal game are slated for TNT, TBS and truTV. ESPN will continue to air two first-round games.
Standout Games and Their Audiences
Alabama’s 34-24 comeback against Oklahoma topped the weekend’s viewership, averaging 14.9 million on ABC/ESPN. That figure marks the highest-rated CFP first-round game in the two-year span of the expanded 12-team field and places the matchup as the fifth-most watched game of the entire season. Six of the top 20 most-viewed games this year involve Alabama.
Miami’s 10-7 win over Texas A&M pulled in 14.8 million viewers on ABC/ESPN, more than doubling the 6.4 million who watched the SMU-Penn State game in the same slot on TNT/TBS and truTV. The Hurricanes’ victory ranked as the sixth-most watched game of the season.
Ole Miss’s 41-10 rout of Tulane averaged 6.2 million on TNT/TBS and truTV, down from the 8.6 million average of last year’s Texas-Clemson game in the identical time slot and networks.
Quarterfinals and Future Broadcasts
Last year’s four quarterfinal matchups averaged 16.9 million on ESPN and ESPN2. The upcoming schedule will keep ESPN on the first-round games while Warner Bros. Discovery channels take on the later stages. This arrangement is expected to keep the overall audience numbers in line with historical trends.
Other Highlights
The weekend also featured a senior sports reporter from CNBC, Michael Ozanian, who explained why USC is valued so much more than UCLA. While that commentary is unrelated to the ratings, it underscores the broader media interest surrounding college football’s top programs.
Key Takeaways
- College Football Playoff first-round viewership fell 7% to 9.9 million on average.
- The shift of the final game to TNT, TBS and truTV, coupled with an NFL game, contributed to the drop.
- Alabama’s 34-24 win over Oklahoma remains the most-watched CFP game of the two-year expanded field.
The weekend’s ratings illustrate how network placement and competing sports events can shape audience engagement. While the overall numbers dipped, marquee matchups still drew strong viewership, and the broadcast strategy for the next season promises to keep fans tuned in across multiple platforms.
