ESPN announced the ratings for Monday’s College Football Playoffs semifinals and … let’s just say the network didn’t stop popping the corks at midnight the night before.
Michigan’s 27-20 overtime win against Alabama had 27. 2 million viewers and peaked at 32.8 million. These insane figures put that game in the Top 10 cable TV shows of all time. It was the most-watched non-NFL game since 2019.
Washington’s 37-31 win over Texas had 18.4 million viewers.
This why ESPN pays $470 million a year to broadcast college football. That deal runs through 2026. A new contract is projected to be worth seven times what ESPN pays now.
College Football Playoff ratings numbers continue to be impressive
College football numbers have been outstanding, even as the bowl system is being panned because of the lack of interest by players and fans attending live.
The TV numbers for Michigan’s win were the best since the 2014 College Football Playoffs.
The College Football Playoffs semis have drawn an audience of more than 25 million four times. In 2014, both games — Ohio State’s 42-35 win against Alabama and Oregon’s 59-20 win against Florida State — and Georgia’s 54-48 win against Oklahoma in 2017. Then Monday’s Michigan-Alabama game.
The most-watched College Football Playoffs championship game was in 2014 when Ohio State beat Oregon 42-20, which got 34.148 million viewers.