The first round of the College Football Playoff drew an average of 9.9 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, TNT, TBS and truTV, a 7 % decline from the previous year. The dip was largely attributed to the final matchup between James Madison and Oregon airing on TNT, TBS and truTV instead of ABC and ESPN, and the presence of a prime-time NFL game.
Viewership Breakdown
The most-watched game of the weekend was the Chicago Bears’ 22-16 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers on Fox, which pulled in 21.3 million viewers. Oregon’s 51-34 victory over James Madison, broadcast on TNT, TBS and truTV, averaged 4.4 million. In comparison, last year’s Ohio State-Tennessee game on ABC/ESPN averaged 14.3 million and did not face an NFL opponent.
The Alabama-Oklahoma game, a 34-24 comeback by Alabama, averaged 14.9 million on a Friday night on ABC/ESPN. That was the highest-viewed first-round game in the two-year span of the expanded 12-team field and ranked as the fifth-most watched game of the season. Six of the top 20 most-viewed games this year involve Alabama.
Last year’s opening matchup, Notre Dame versus Indiana, averaged 13.4 million.
NFL Competition and Network Choices
The Saturday middle CFP game has historically contended with NFL broadcasts. Philadelphia’s 29-18 win over Washington on Fox averaged 15.5 million, matching the audience for last year’s Pittsburgh-Baltimore game. ESPN sublicenses CFP games to TNT, TBS and truTV; the Warner Bros. Discovery channels will also carry two quarterfinals and a semifinal game next season.
Last year’s four quarterfinal matchups averaged 16.9 million on ESPN and ESPN2.
Highlights from Saturday Afternoon
Miami’s 10-7 win over Texas A&M averaged 14.8 million on ABC/ESPN, more than doubling the 6.4 million that tuned in for the SMU-Penn State game in the same time slot on TNT/TBS and truTV. The Hurricanes’ victory was the sixth-most watched game of the season.
Ole Miss’s 41-10 rout of Tulane averaged 6.2 million on TNT/TBS and truTV, down from the 8.6 million average for last year’s Texas-Clemson game in the same slot and on the same networks.
Future Broadcast Landscape
ESPN will continue to sublicense games to TNT, TBS and truTV, while Warner Bros. Discovery channels will secure two quarterfinals and a semifinal game in the next season’s schedule. The distribution strategy reflects a broader trend of sharing high-profile sporting events across multiple networks to maximize reach.
Key Takeaways
- The first-round CFP viewership fell 7 % to 9.9 million due to network splits and NFL competition.
- Alabama’s 34-24 win over Oklahoma was the highest-viewed first-round game, averaging 14.9 million.
- Warner Bros. Discovery will broadcast two quarterfinals and a semifinal next season, expanding the multi-network coverage model.
The 2024 CFP season highlighted how scheduling and network placement can significantly influence audience numbers, even as marquee teams like Alabama continue to dominate viewership rankings.
