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The College Football Playoff ratings took a hit for the second straight year. On Tuesday, Sports Business Journal‘s John Ourand shared the CFP semifinal ratings, which took a dip from last season.
Per Ourand, Alabama-Cincinnati and Georgia-Michigan drew 16.1 and 16.5 million viewers respectively. Last season, Alabama-Notre Dame and Ohio State-Clemson each had at least 2 million more fans glued to their screens.
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.-Clemsonβ John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) January 4, 2022
It’s not exactly clear what caused the the drop in viewers. However, it could be another side effect of the global pandemic.
Due to less COVID restrictions in 2021, (although in the age of Omicron some could come back) people had more options on New Year’s Eve this year than they did last.
π’π‘π π π’π₯π πͺπππ
2022 #CFBPlayoff #NationalChampionship.
1οΈβ£. Alabama // @AlabamaFTBL // #RollTide
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3οΈβ£. Georgia // @GeorgiaFootball // #GoDawgsMonday, January 10. 8:15 p.m. ET. @LucasOilStadium and @ESPN. pic.twitter.com/GAqBYYuaW9
β College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) January 4, 2022
It’s also worth noting the brands of Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Clemson are bigger than that of Cincinnati and arguably a Michigan for that matter. Although the Wolverines are a massive college brand in their own right.
2020’s College Football Playoff title game actually drew a lower rating than that of the semis. Alabama-Ohio State only captured 18.6 million viewers, down from 19.1 and 18.9 million respective viewers in the semifinals.
The Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs meet in the national championship on January 10 at 8 PM ET on ESPN.