Source: Last night's CFP championship game pulled a 15.8 overnight rating on ESPN, down 15 percent from last year.
— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) January 12, 2016
Last nights title game was one of the most exciting title games. One of the most exciting games of the 2015/2016 College Football Post season. But compared to last year it seems like many people missed the excitement.
Could the 2nd year lag be blamed for the drop off? Could the mid-January date cause fans moved on from college football already? Or the 8:30pm EST kick-off be too late for fans to stay up and watch? Maybe Clemson and Bama just don’t bring the fans that Bama vs. Ohio State might bring? Or maybe its a combination of all of those things.
My theory about the primary reason for drop off is that Monday night, late kick-off time and Mid-January are just a bad combination for the title game. That combination alienate’s the casual fans. By Mid-January everyone is back to work and they are fully tuned into NFL playoffs.
The Committee really needs to look at having the College football season wrapped up by January 1st or 2nd. Plan for the First Saturday of the new year to finish and have a champion. Mainly because the hardcore fans aren’t the ones College Football Playoff Committee needs to worry about it’s the casual fans. If you look at the NFL they capitalize on casual fans for Super Bowl by dominating the ultimate Sunday. If I’m a casual fan and I’m not a fan of any school in the playoff would I rather watch more normal television show on Monday night and go to sleep at a normal hour. or Stay up to watch a game I don’t really care about and be tired the next day.