TV ratings. As if, through the roof.
Now, CFP officials must be licking their lips at possibilities for the Jan. 12 championship game. Not only do they have two explosive teams in Oregon and Ohio State, but they see a fan base and TV audience champing at the bit for an extravaganza at Jerry World.
TV ratings, they believe, will blow the lid off.
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In its first year, the four-team playoff system for college football’s biggest schools and conferences is a certified smash.
First, the numbers. The New Year’s Day doubleheader produced more than 28 million viewers per game, making them the two highest-rated telecasts since the dawn of cable.
ESPN drew 28.2 million for Oregon’s 59-20 blowout of Florida State, according to CNN. Ohio State beat Alabama 42-35, a much closer game that pulled 28.3 million viewers in prime time.
As expected, ESPN extolled the virtues of its programming. It noted it now holds the 18 biggest audiences in cable/satellite history. It also touted a 50 percent increase in Rose Bowl viewers and a 150 percent boost in Sugar Bowl viewers.
Friday’s release of final ratings figures showed a surprising hike from the overnight numbers. The Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl posted ratings of 15.5 and 15.3, respectively.
The semifinal games topped 2011’s Auburn-Oregon title game and 2013’s Alabama-Notre Dame game under the old Bowl Championship Series system.
Oregon will make its debut in a national championship game. Ohio State, fourth among the semifinalists, is back in the title picture for the first time in six years. It lost BCS title games in the 2007 and ‘08 seasons and last claimed the national title in 2002.
