(01-09-2018 01:23 PM)Frank the Tank Wrote:  

(01-09-2018 01:13 PM)Attackcoog Wrote:  I wonder, how much, if any, affect the semis not being on NY Eve helped. All the semi-final games saw nice increases this year adn were thus seen by more people My feeling is, more people watched the semis and were therefor more invested and curious to see the final. Truth be told, its impressive that this years rating were higher 2016 because I actually think last year was the more compelling final matchup.

That may play a part in it. However, I don't think 2016 was necessarily a more compelling matchup from a casual fan perspective because it was a rematch (which generally have lower ratings than the first meeting). Plus, while Alabama-Clemson was a matchup between two conferences, it was still a game between two teams from the same South region just as it was this year. Finally, Atlanta is pound-for-pound the #1 TV market for college football. The fact that its de facto home team of Georgia was playing in a championship game (and such game was being held in Atlanta, to boot) could have provided a bump in the ratings in the same manner that having the NYC, Chicago or Boston markets boost World Series ratings when the Yankees, Cubs or Red Sox are participating.

I think you mean Atlanta is the clear overall number 1 college football market. It's probably the number 2 pound-for-pound. Birmingham clearly punches above its weight class more than anywhere else.