ESPN Ends Its College Football Season With the Highest-Rated National Championship in Four Years
ESPN capped off a widely successful college football season with a bang on Monday night, as the ratings for the College Football National Championship hit a four-year high.
In total, Monday’s game between the Michigan Wolverines and Washington Huskies averaged 25.05 million viewers across ESPN platforms.
How Viewership Broke Down
Of that total, 24.28 million turned to the main broadcast on ESPN, while 596,000 viewers chose ESPN2.
The alternate broadcast on ESPNU accounted for 150,000 viewers, while ESPN Deportes brought in another 30 thousand.
The total number of viewers was up 45% from last year’s National Championship, which saw the University of Georgia rout TCU. That game managed 17.22 million viewers. Overall, the Michigan-Washington game was the second most watched championship game since LSU-Clemson in 2020.
While Monday’s numbers were impressive, the game failed to live up to the lofty viewership that Michigan-Alabama had in the Rose Bowl last week. That game brought in an astounding 27.76 million viewers.
Interstingly, Michigan participated in the three highest-rated college football games of the season. Outside of the National Championship and Rose Bowl, it was the Michigan-Ohio State matchup on November 25 that was the third-highest rated game of the season.
A Banner Year For ESPN
Overall the 2023-2024 collge football season was a banner year for ESPN. In addition to the highly rated playoff games, Disney recoreded its second most-watched regular season since 2016, with games averaging 1.7 million viewers.
As Bob Iger and Disney brass try to manage an ever-changing media landscape, one things remains clear. Live sports are still the backbone of cable television, and that will not change as ESPN begins its shift towards steaming.
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