https://theathletic.com/4078542/2023/01/...ed_article

ESPN networks averaged 17.2 million viewers for Georgia’s blowout win over TCU in the CFP national championship game Monday night, ESPN announced Tuesday, marking the least-viewed CFP championship game since the BCS era began in 1999. Here’s what you need to know:

Prior to Monday’s game, Alabama versus Ohio State in 2021 was the least-watched national championship of the CFP or BCS eras with 18.65 million viewers, according to Sports Media Watch.
Georgia’s 65 points on Monday were the most in a BCS/CFP title game. It was the biggest blowout of an AP top-three team ever. The Bulldogs’ 58-point win is the largest margin of victory in FBS bowl history.
The three-game playoff of the Peach Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and national championship averaged 20.6 million viewers, up 9 percent year-over-year, according to ESPN.

Well, the CFP brought this on itself, IMO.

Average viewers? Well considering the game was out of hand in the first half it was incredibly boring to the average viewer. (edit: probably should have phrased this better, I know it means the average number of viewers and not the "average viewer" - I'm saying a typical viewer was much more likely to turn it off midway through the game and reduce the average number of viewers over the course of the game).

It's behind a paywall, is there anything on there about the peak number of viewers?

It has to be balanced that the CFP semifinals had spectacular 5-year high numbers, particularly considering they were on New Years Eve (while the prior 5-year semifinal highs came with the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on higher viewership New Years Day). The semifinal viewership was so strong that the average among all 3 CFP games was still up from last year despite the record low championship game figure.

Thankfully got two good semis for a change. Two outta three ain’t bad.

Well, duh. I doubt I was the only one who turned the channel at 24-7 or 31-7 or, halftime etc.

There’s a lot of gas in that bag. The one-sidedness hurts, but long and frequent ad breaks don’t help. Don’t prolong something that is clearly going one direction as to maybe get a drop of an interesting shift or turnaround (like the NCAA Tournament games, which feel like torture watching nowadays).

The real lesson is that the CFB season should end on January 1.

Put the game on a Friday or Saturday night. I will never understand the dip****tery of having it on a Monday night.

(01-10-2023 10:55 PM)jrj84105 Wrote:  The real lesson is that the CFB season should end on January 1.

This isn't 1983. That time is over.

TCU beats Michigan and you see are fans here, of programs who haven’t played a down of Big 12 football, claiming The Big 12 was part of a “P3”.

That game once again proved the fallacy of a P2. The harsh reality is for anyone whose program isn’t part of The SEC. It’s The SEC’s world and the rest of us are just in it.

Yes Big Ten even you guys. I don’t know what you guys are doing with all that BTN money but it’s not buying football players. Must be buying slide rules and pocket protectors

Does anyone really believe expanding the CFP is going to change anything?Sure it will give everyone a warm and fuzzy feeling but come next January we’ll be talking about The SEC kicking the crap out of another PAC, Big 12, Big Ten or ACC school.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

(01-11-2023 07:09 AM)CardinalJim Wrote:  TCU beats Michigan and you see are fans here, of programs who haven’t played a down of Big 12 football, claiming The Big 12 was part of a “P3”.

That game once again proved the fallacy of a P2. The harsh reality is for anyone whose program isn’t part of The SEC. It’s The SEC’s world and the rest of us are just in it.

Yes Big Ten even you guys. I don’t know what you guys are doing with all that BTN money but it’s not buying football players. Must be buying slide rules and pocket protectors

Does anyone really believe expanding the CFP is going to change anything?Sure it will give everyone a warm and fuzzy feeling but come next January we’ll be talking about The SEC kicking the crap out of another PAC, Big 12, Big Ten or ACC school.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

Yeah they are just going to backfill all the autobid spots with SEC and B10 teams. This expansion was all a move to give the SEC a better chance at locking down the National Championship. Get used to Georgia vs Alabama in the Championship game every year.

(01-11-2023 07:58 AM)GreenBison Wrote:  

(01-11-2023 07:09 AM)CardinalJim Wrote:  TCU beats Michigan and you see are fans here, of programs who haven’t played a down of Big 12 football, claiming The Big 12 was part of a “P3”.

That game once again proved the fallacy of a P2. The harsh reality is for anyone whose program isn’t part of The SEC. It’s The SEC’s world and the rest of us are just in it.

Yes Big Ten even you guys. I don’t know what you guys are doing with all that BTN money but it’s not buying football players. Must be buying slide rules and pocket protectors

Does anyone really believe expanding the CFP is going to change anything?Sure it will give everyone a warm and fuzzy feeling but come next January we’ll be talking about The SEC kicking the crap out of another PAC, Big 12, Big Ten or ACC school.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

Yeah they are just going to backfill all the autobid spots with SEC and B10 teams. This expansion was all a move to give the SEC a better chance at locking down the National Championship. Get used to Georgia vs Alabama in the Championship game every year.

IMO, the weakness in the 4 team CFP has been that a few teams have been able to hoard talent (specifically Alabama and Georgia, Clemson and Ohio State). Whether the SEC further dominates in an expanded playoffs will be based on whether their recruiting advantage continues. Unfortunately, the SEC will have just as many “next tier” talented teams (e.g. LSU, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, TAMU, Tennessee) as all the other FBS programs. B1G/ACC/PAC/B12 need to improve recruiting.

I think people are getting tired of seeing SEC teams. We got somebody new in there. But, I wonder if there will be a year that NO SEC teams made the playoffs?

Expanded CFP and transfer portal are working to disperse the talent more evenly across conferences. SEC wont be able to stockpile talent forever.

Most transfer outs: Texas A&M, Florida, Arkansas
Most transfer ins: Arizona State, Colorado, Michigan State
(According to On3's Twitter 1/3/23-1/4/23)

(01-11-2023 08:29 AM)DavidSt Wrote:  I think people are getting tired of seeing SEC teams. We got somebody new in there. But, I wonder if there will be a year that NO SEC teams made the playoffs?

As the poet Pete Townsend once wrote “meet the new boss, same as the old boss”.

And as the philosopher Ric Flair famously observed “To be the man you gotta beat the man”

The SEC ain’t going nowhere. I never deal in absolutes but this is about as close as you’ll ever see to an absolute. There will NEVER be a playoff without an SEC participant.

Other teams need to learn to compete and I’m sure they will. That I’m sure off

Thank God. The fewer people that saw it the better. Sadly I paid to see it in person. As good as the TCU-Michigan game was, this was the exact opposite.

(01-11-2023 09:36 AM)Big Frog II Wrote:  Thank God. The fewer people that saw it the better. Sadly I paid to see it in person. As good as the TCU-Michigan game was, this was the exact opposite.

Sorry you had that experience. I have attended big games by my teams before, and saw them get beat as well, and that experience is just a real downer.

(01-11-2023 09:36 AM)Big Frog II Wrote:  Thank God. The fewer people that saw it the better. Sadly I paid to see it in person. As good as the TCU-Michigan game was, this was the exact opposite.

Congratulations on making the championship game. No shame in losing to Georgia. That’s a machine Kirby has there. The Dawgs weren’t losing to anyone this season

(01-11-2023 07:09 AM)CardinalJim Wrote:  TCU beats Michigan and you see are fans here, of programs who haven’t played a down of Big 12 football, claiming The Big 12 was part of a “P3”.

That game once again proved the fallacy of a P2. The harsh reality is for anyone whose program isn’t part of The SEC. It’s The SEC’s world and the rest of us are just in it.

Yes Big Ten even you guys. I don’t know what you guys are doing with all that BTN money but it’s not buying football players. Must be buying slide rules and pocket protectors

Does anyone really believe expanding the CFP is going to change anything?Sure it will give everyone a warm and fuzzy feeling but come next January we’ll be talking about The SEC kicking the crap out of another PAC, Big 12, Big Ten or ACC school.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

My sincere belief is that you'll see Ohio State, Michigan, PSU, USC, and UCLA trying to join the SEC by 2035.

There's going to be a college football pro conference, and then everyone else.