[daneblazer]

2018 UGA-Alabama had a 10.1 rating on CBS.
2018 NCG UGA-Alabama had a 15.6 rating on ESPN
2018 Rose Bowl game had a 13.7 on ESPN
2018 Sugar Bowl (Clemson-Alabama) had an 11.4 on ESPN

Going from playoffs with an 11.4 and a 13.7 to ones with 10.3 and 10.4 is a pretty steep drop off.



From ESPN....

College Football Playoff Semifinals Continue to Deliver Strong Ratings for ESPN; Rank among Top Cable Presentations of the Year

Capital One Orange Bowl Delivers 10.4 Overnight; Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic 10.3
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Delivers Its Highest-Non Semifinal Overnight of the CFP Era
Birmingham is Highest-Rated Market for All Three Games; More than 50% of Market Watches Crimson Tide's Victory

The College Football Playoff Semifinals delivered strong ratings for ESPN once again, as the Capital One Orange Bowl featuring Alabama's 45-34 victory over Oklahoma (8 p.m. ET) earned a 10.4 overnight and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, which Clemson controlled and defeated Notre Dame 30-3 (4 p.m.), delivered a 10.3 overnight. The two overnight ratings, which account for ESPN's MegaCast offering, will finish among the top six highest-rated cable presentations of 2018 - a top six which features all five CFP games that were played in the calendar year (CFP Semifinals on January 1 and CFP National Championship on January 8).

Significant, Early Leads Result in First Half Peak Ratings for Both Games

ESPN earned two of cable's best overnights of the year despite both games' ratings peaking in the first half. The Orange Bowl peaked at an 11.8 when Alabama jumped out to a 14-0 lead with more than five minutes to go in the first quarter (8:30-8:45 p.m.), a lead that the Crimson Tide would increase to 31-10 before halftime. The Cotton Bowl peaked at an 11.2 when Clemson scored seconds before halftime, giving the Tigers a 23-3 advantage going into the break (5:30-5:45 p.m.).

CFP Semifinals See Ratings Growth from Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl's First CFP Semifinals

Both overnights were up from the 2015 season's CFP Semifinals, the only other time that the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl hosted the CFP Semifinals. This year's early game was up 5% from 2015 and the late game up 4% from the same year.

Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Delivers a New High

The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl delivered the bowl's highest non-Semifinal rating of the CFP era. Florida's defeat of Michigan (noon) earned a 5.3 overnight, up 4% from last year's game, which was played directly before the CFP Semifinals, and up 33% from the previously mentioned 2015 year.
Birmingham is No. 1 Local Market for all Three Games; More than 50% of the Market Watched Alabama's Convincing Victory

Birmingham was the highest-rated market for all three games, including delivering a 51.3 overnight for the Crimson Tide's victory.

[pavyracer]

The games were over after 15 minutes. They put the wrong teams in the playoff. Only people who watched are the ones who had parlayed Clemson and Bama ML's on their tickets.

[Sam Odom]

Watched play by play for 1st Half of ND/Clem... did other stuff rest of game

Watched 1st Qt of OU/Bama... did other stuff rest of game

[pavyracer]

[survive]

I don’t think it helps that everyone knew it’d be a clemson Alabama championship before the season started. I’d guess the championship gets good ratings though

[daneblazer]

For all the talk of expanding the playoffs for money and eliminating championship games... the SEC Championship drew more viewers than Clemson/Notre Dame