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College Football Playoff Semifinal Television Ratings Were Off the Charts

ESPN had its third-best viewership day in the history of the company.

Brendan Gulick

College Football Playoff Semifinal Television Ratings Were Off the Charts
College Football Playoff Semifinal Television Ratings Were Off the Charts /

For anyone that may have been complaining about the College Football Playoff being boring because it included perhaps the four biggest brands in college football right now, America doesn't agree with you.

The CFP just announced their viewership numbers for the Rose Bowl between Alabama and Notre Dame, and the Sugar Bowl between Clemson and Ohio State ... and the data is staggering.

The Sugar Bowl was the most watched bowl game of the 2020 season, with 19.1 million viewers watching the Buckeyes blow out the Tigers. But it doesn't stop there. The Rose Bowl also drew a massive audience on New Year's Day as ESPN had the third most-watched day ever in the history of the company.

ESPN and the College Football Playoff says the following are all true of last weekend's broadcasts:

  • Best cable telecasts since 2020 CFP Championship Game
  • Best non-NFL sporting event across any network since 2020 CFP Championship Game
  • Rose Bowl: viewership was up 8 percent year-over-year from last year's early CFP Semifinal
  • Third-most watched day EVER for ESPN networks
  • CFP Semifinals reached 40.8 million viewers
  • Top CFP Semifinal Markets: Birmingham (42.1 market share average) and Columbus (32.5 market share average)

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Brendan Gulick
BRENDAN GULICK

Brendan Gulick is the publisher for BuckeyesNow, Cleveland Baseball Insider and Cavs Insider on the FanNation Network. He is also an accomplished host and play-by-play voice on TV and radio, including on Big Ten Network and NCAA.com where he's called 45 NCAA national championships. Gulick is an update anchor and fill-in host at 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland, Ohio.

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