The college Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship game set an 11-year viewership high, averaging 30.1 million viewers on ESPN.
Indiana’s victory over Miami gained 36 per cent more viewers than last year’s game, and peaked at 33.2 million. it’s the most watched national title match sence Ohio State’s win in the inaugural CFP season during 2014/15.
The Hoosiers’ win also ranks as the fourth-most watched college football game in the past 30 years, and is the most watched non-National Football League (NFL) sports broadcast in the US as Game Seven of the 2016 World Series.
The viewership increase for the CFP title game followed the competition’s semi-final stage, which recorded its lowest figures as 2014. the CFP averaged 16.3 million viewers across 11 games, a four per cent year-over-year (YoY) increase.
Next year begins the CFP’s new six-year broadcast deal with ESPN, with Disney paying US$1.3 billion per year for the tournament. The 2026/27 CFP could also expand beyond 12 teams, as conferences discuss increasing the format to include more colleges.
NFL Divisional Round delivers records for ESPN
The NFL playoffs continue to be a viewership powerhouse, with the four-game round averaging 39.2 million viewers for ESPN, CBS, NBC and NBC.