The first round of the College Football Playoff last weekend averaged 9.9 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, TNT, TBS and truTV, according to ESPN and Nielson. This is 7% less than last year.
The main reason for the refusal was that the final game, James Madison vs. Oregon, aired on TNT, TBS and truTV rather than ABC and ESPN, as well as a primetime NFL game.
Chicago Bears 22–16 overtime win over Green Bay Packers on Fox averaged 21.3 million viewers, while Oregon wins over James Madison 51–34 attracted 4.4 million. Last year's Ohio-Tennessee game on ABC/ESPN averaged 14.3 million viewers, plus it didn't compare to the NFL game.
The most popular CFP game was Alabama's comeback win over Oklahoma, 34–24which averaged 14.9 million views Friday night on ABC/ESPN. Not only was it the most-watched CFP first-round game in the two years of the expanded 12-team field, it was also the fifth-most-watched game of the season. Six of the 20 most-watched games this year involve Alabama.
Last year, the first CFP between Notre Dame and Indiana averaged 13.4 million.
Miami wins over Texas A's 10-7.&M ABC/ESPN averaged 14.8 million viewers Saturday afternoon, more than double the 6.4 million who watched the SMU-Penn State game in the same time slot on TNT/TBS and truTV.
The Hurricanes' win was the sixth most watched game of the season.
Ole Miss defeats Tulane 41-10 averaged 6.2 million on TNT/TBS and truTV, compared to an 8.6 million average for last year's Texas-Clemson game in the same timeslot and channel.
Saturday's average CFP game has been competitive with the NFL for the past two years. Philadelphia's 29-18 win over Washington on Fox averaged 15.5 million viewers, the same audience that watched last year's game between Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
ESPN sublicenses CFP games to TNT/TBS and truTV. In addition to two first-round games next year, Warner Bros. Discovery will host two quarterfinals and a semifinal game.
Last year's four quarterfinal matches averaged 16.9 million viewers on ESPN and ESPN2.
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