Alabama’s dramatic win over Georgia drove ESPN’s presentation of the College Football Playoff National Championship to an average of 28,443,000 viewers on its Nielsen-rated networks (ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU as part of its MegaCast production). That is up 13% over last season’s championship game on the same three Nielsen-rated networks with the ESPN-only telecast averaging 27,383,000 million viewers. The game now ranks as the second biggest for any cable presentation in history.
“The record-breaking audiences, over the course of multiple years, clearly reinforce how the College Football Playoff has quickly established itself as an elite event on the sports calendar,” said Burke Magnus, ESPN executive vice president, programming and scheduling. “Last night’s thrilling finish coupled with ESPN’s innovative MegaCast presentation showcased the incredible strength of college football and the deep connection live sports have with fans.”