The opening round of this year's College Football Playoff (CFP) saw a notable decline in television audiences, with figures dropping by 7% compared to last year's event. The primary factors behind the slump include direct competition from the National Football League (NFL) and a shift of some major games away from traditional broadcast powerhouses.
Broadcast Battles and Audience Figures
According to data from ESPN and Nielsen, the first-round playoff matches across ABC, ESPN, TNT, TBS, and truTV attracted an average of 9.9 million viewers. This marks a clear decrease from the previous year's equivalent stage. A significant moment in the schedule saw the final game of the round, featuring James Madison versus Oregon, broadcast on TNT, TBS, and truTV rather than ABC and ESPN. This decision coincided with a prime-time NFL clash.
The competing NFL game, where the Chicago Bears secured a 22-16 overtime win against the Green Bay Packers on Fox, proved a formidable draw. It pulled in a massive 21.3 million viewers. In contrast, Oregon's 51-34 victory over James Madison managed an audience of 4.4 million. The disparity is stark when compared to last year's Ohio State-Tennessee matchup on ABC/ESPN, which averaged 14.3 million viewers without NFL competition.
Highs and Lows of the Playoff Schedule
Despite the overall dip, certain games demonstrated strong pulling power. The most-watched CFP encounter was Alabama's 34-24 comeback win over Oklahoma, which aired on a Friday night on ABC and ESPN. Averaging 14.9 million viewers, it was not only the top-rated first-round game in the two-year history of the expanded 12-team format but also the season's fifth-most watched contest overall. Impressively, six of the top 20 most-viewed games this season involved Alabama.
Other matches had mixed fortunes. Miami's narrow 10-7 triumph over Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon on ABC/ESPN drew a robust 14.8 million viewers, making it the sixth-most watched game of the season. This figure more than doubled the 6.4 million who tuned in for the SMU-Penn State game in the same slot on TNT, TBS, and truTV. Conversely, Ole Miss's 41-10 rout of Tulane on those Warner Bros. Discovery channels averaged just 6.2 million, down from the 8.6 million for last year's comparable Texas-Clemson fixture.
Looking Ahead: Implications and Future Schedule
The data underscores a persistent challenge for the Saturday CFP slot, which has faced NFL competition for two consecutive years. A Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington game on Fox, for instance, averaged 15.5 million viewers this year. The audience numbers highlight the difficult landscape for college football when directly pitted against the professional league's regular season.
The broadcast arrangement, where ESPN sublicenses games to TNT/TBS and truTV, is set to continue. Next year, the Warner Bros. Discovery channels will again carry two first-round games, in addition to two quarterfinals and one semifinal match. This follows a 2024 quarterfinal stage where the four games averaged 16.9 million viewers on ESPN's platforms. The evolving distribution strategy and ongoing competition will be key factors in whether the CFP can reclaim its audience share in the coming seasons.
