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This year’s slate of College Football Playoff semifinals didn’t quite match the anticipation that fans had heading into the contests. Alabama trounced Cincinnati and Georgia routed Michigan, resulting in two underwhelming outcomes.
As a result, the television ratings for the two games took a major hit when compared to last year’s semifinals.
CFP Semis
16.1 million for Bama-Cincinnati
16.5 million for Georgia-Michigan
Last year
18.9 million for Bama-Notre Dame
19.1 million for Ohio St.-Clemson
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) January 4, 2022
“>According to John Ourand of the
CFP Semis
16.1 million for Bama-Cincinnati
16.5 million for Georgia-Michigan
Last year
18.9 million for Bama-Notre Dame
19.1 million for Ohio St.-Clemson
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) January 4, 2022
“>Sports Business Journal, Alabama-Cincinnati and Georgia-Michigan drew 16.1 and 16.5 million viewers respectively. Both contests had less than two million fans tuning in than last year’s comparable matchups of Alabama-Notre Dame and Ohio State-Clemson.
CFP Semis
16.1 million for Bama-Cincinnati
16.5 million for Georgia-MichiganLast year
18.9 million for Bama-Notre Dame
19.1 million for Ohio St.-Clemson— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) January 4, 2022
The action on the field likely wasn’t the only factor that led to fewer fans watching the playoff semifinals in 2021. The playoff games also aired on New Year’s Eve, which was obviously a popular day for potential viewers to be doing something other than watching football.
Media members around the country recognized that the combination of questionable scheduling and unexciting on-field products likely led to the massive drop-off in viewership.
“We’re going to change the paradigm of New Year’s Eve.”
Strong possibility Rose Bowl number will be higher. https://t.co/rc8wotN3x4
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) January 4, 2022
An expected dropoff. The semifinals were on New Year’s Even this year, which makes zero sense. https://t.co/OdkuqbI2IQ
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) January 4, 2022
It’s almost like the CFB Playoff shouldn’t be played on New Year’s Eve. College football and New Year’s Day belong together.
This isn’t hard. https://t.co/zwqpx3JGSU
— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) January 4, 2022
Maybe starting the games at 3:00 on New Years Eve isn’t a great idea? https://t.co/OkuS3Lv6OE
— John Kurtz (@jlkurtz) January 4, 2022
TV audiences for the CFP semifinals.
Not great, but blowouts on NYE is a bad combination. https://t.co/FZTcSR8esj
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) January 4, 2022
TV ratings down for the semis, a number of factors, including blowouts, but having them at 3:30 ET and 7 ET on a workday for a lot of people was not a great idea. https://t.co/lFCJYUQKlQ
— Seth Emerson (@SethWEmerson) January 4, 2022
One of the ways that the College Football Playoff could make up for less than ideal semifinal viewership numbers would be to deliver an exciting national championship.
That could still be a difficult task considering the 2020 CFP title game actually drew a lower rating than that of the semis. Alabama-Ohio State brought in 18.6 million viewers, down from 19.1 and 18.9 million respective viewers in the semifinals.
This year’s matchup between Alabama and Georgia certainly brings more intrigue to the table. The two conference foes already met in the SEC Championship and have clearly been two of the best teams in the nation all year long.
All that’s left to do is see which program has more juice when kickoff rolls around in less than a week.
The Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs will meet in the national championship on Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.