Before we get into the TV ratings, it’s important to note that these are very human games for our entertainment, and what happened to Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin on Monday is a stark reminder of the dangers of football.
Everything feels small and insignificant when life is literally in the balance. Fingers crossed, Hamlin is finally out of the hospital and has a full, healthy, and long life.
There is no easy way to change from this, and it shouldn’t be easy, but we are still here to adjust the nature of watching sports television, even if it feels good today. My colleagues have the full story of Hamlin’s character here.
We’ll start with the College Football Playoff quarterfinals on the ESPN networks. And it’s no surprise that the two players have been a crowd pleaser, especially since it’s rare to have two nail-biting Semi-CFPs in the same season.
Georgia’s 42-41 first-time victory over Ohio State in the Peach Bowl, won only after a Buckeyes missed field goal in regulation time, averaged 22.1 million viewers.
That’s the best average CFP audience since Georgia’s 54-48 wild win over Oklahoma in the 2018 Rose Bowl, which averaged 26.9 million viewers, per preliminary audience data.
During the big game, Saturday’s thriller faced endless competition from the oldest possible: Father Time. Per Sports Media Watch (SMW), the game’s audience peaks between 9:45 and 10 p.m. under 24 million, and it wasn’t until midnight when a field goal attempt went badly wide left.
Apparently, the broadcasters have lost a bit of audience to New Year’s coverage on other networks, with the fall in popularity of the ball in New York City’s Times Square and the arrival of 2023 elsewhere. (At my house, that’s what we did, too.) And maybe some viewers fell asleep before midnight (which I almost did, too!).
The CFP semifinals have been played between Dec. 28 and Jan. 1 since the game’s inception for the 2014-15 season, so losing eyeballs to CNN hosts at midnight is nothing new.
Still, it’s the best 18-of-18 CFP semifinals played under the current format, per SMW, and ESPN says it’s the most-watched CFP semifinal since 2014-15.
In the first CFP semifinal, TCU’s 51-45 Fiesta Bowl rout of Michigan — which sparked the latest Jim Harbaugh-to-the-NFL speech — averaged 21.4 million viewers. This is the best start to the CFP semifinals since that 2018 Rose Bowl game.
The game’s average audience peaked at the end, from 7:45 to 8 p.m., at 26.4 million viewers, per ESPN.
In the New Year’s six games without a game, we have the second highest total viewership out of four games.
Tennessee’s 31-14 victory over Clemson in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30 drew 8.6 million viewers for the best non-CFP bowl broadcast since 2017, per SMW, and Alabama’s 45- 20 against Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl averaged 9 million viewers. for sunrise on New Year’s Eve. That’s down about 800,000 viewers from January 1 last year’s Sugar Bowl, in which Baylor beat Ole Miss in the big time.
Deitsch: On a bad night for Damar Hamlin and the NFL, ESPN showed humanity
We don’t yet have audience data for Monday’s Cotton Bowl (Tulane 46, USC 45) or Rose Bowl (Penn State 35, Utah 21). Check back later this week.
Now comes the small print: As regular readers of this blog know, comparing any live sports broadcast from 2020 to events before this is apples-oranges because the owners are not included look at home not before summer 2020. And this is important. branding because OOH viewing (viewing in bars, restaurants and party venues, etc.) can add millions to the total audience.
It is also important to remember that while these games serve many purposes for many people, they are mostly made for TV shows that enrich ESPN and serve as advertising platforms for advertisers. We don’t have the fun side without the business side (which still mostly leaves the players whose work makes these bowls possible).
They’re not cheap games, either. ESPN currently pays a reported $470 million annually to broadcast the College Football Playoff, along with various fees for the TV rights to the Rose, Orange, Cotton, and Sugar bowls that bring the rights to the games. year to more than 600 million dollars.
With the CFP field expanding to twelve teams in 2024, broadcast rights are expected to reach $2 billion and spread beyond ESPN.
It’s the sheer viewership, and the networks’ ability to sell lucrative commercial time during sports, that makes these viewings possible. Especially as TV usage declines and people drop cable, making sports more and more important to the media system. That’s why audience numbers are so important.
As the late, great actor Fred Ward, who portrayed Project Mercury astronaut Gus Grissom in the 1983 film “The Right Stuff” said about the space program: “No money, no Buck Rogers.”
The CFP title game between TCU and Georgia is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Mondays also air on ESPN and ESPN Deportes from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Last year’s CFP title game averaged 22.6 million viewers on ESPN networks, which was the second-lowest average since the current format began. The only lower audience was 18.7 million for the Alabama-Ohio game after the 2020 season.
In January 2020, before COVID-19 dominated the news from overseas, the natty between LSU and Clemson averaged 25.5 million viewers.
The last two National Championship games have suffered from a disastrous fall in TV usage and the loss of cable subscriptions but have still dominated all broadcasts and won ratings. advertiser statistics. That’s what matters to ESPN and its business partners.
What will this year bring? No idea. TCU and Georgia are not the homes of viewers like the Crimson Tide and the Buckeyes, but in the Wild West of television, I would not be surprised if it has a better audience than the last two seasons. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the worst of the CFP era viewers.
Here are some highlights from the past few days:
All viewership data comes from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, as well as other metrics from TV networks, Nielsen, Watch Media Watch, ShowBuzz Daily, 506Sports.com and sports. All Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.
Staples: Saturday was the best day in Playoff history. It took a long time to get here
(Georgia Stetson Bennett photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
It’s official: The University of Alabama Crimson Tide will not miss the 2022 College Football Playoff after being selected fifth overall. The statement issued on Sunday, Dec.
Who is the best college football coach now?
Ranking of the Top 25 Coaches in College Football in 2022 Read also : College Football Rankings: RJ Young’s Top 25 Preseason 2022.
- Kirby Smart, Georgia. Fight among yourselves about the time (Smart) vs.
- Nick Saban, Alabama. The biggest adults. …
- Dabo Swinney, Clemson. …
- Ryan Day, Ohio State. …
- Brian Kelly, LSU. …
- Lincoln Riley, USC. …
- Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M. …
- Luke Fickell, Cincinnati. …
Who won the 2022 college football Coach of the Year? The awards are voted on by Associated Press (AP) voters in the weekly college football AP Poll. The current award holder is Sonny Dykes of TCU for 2022.
Who is the best college football coach in the country?
1. Nick Saban, Alabama. The standard bearer in college football, Nick Saban seems to be getting better with age.
Who is the number 1 coach?
| Year | Worth | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 st | Jürgen Klopp |
| Second | Pep Guardiola | |
| 3rd | Mauricio Pochettino | |
| 2020 | 1 st | Jürgen Klopp |
Will Georgia have to play Alabama this year?
The Alabama Crimson Tide will face the Georgia Bulldogs for the second time this season, and this time it’s for the national championship. This may interest you : Ohio State named the most desirable college football program in 2022 by Sports Illustrated.
What does Georgia need to do to beat Alabama? He needs to win the turnover game, keep a clean sheet themselves and force Alabama into a mistake or two. And one thing that is amazing is that Georgia’s biggest advantage is the free kick.
Does Georgia have a chance against Alabama?
1 Georgia will take on No. 3 Alabama. ESPN’s Football Index (FPI) gives Georgia a 66. Read also : The 12 (or maybe 13) teams that could actually win Super Bowl LVII.5 percent chance to win, while Alabama’s chance is 33.5 percent.
Will Georgia and Alabama play in the national championship?
CFP National Championship Game (Jan. 10, 2022): No. 3 Georgia 33, No. 1 Alabama 18 (at Indianapolis, Indiana).
Who is the number 1 seed in the NFC?
| Team | Make a record | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia – x | 13-3-0 |
| 2 | San Francisco – yes | 12-4-0 |
| 3 | Minnesota – y | 12-4-0 |
| 4 | Tampa Bay – y | 8-8-0 |
Can the 49ers be the 1 seed? The 49ers are now one of three teams with a chance to defend the NFC’s No. 1 and a first round bye. For the 49ers to capture the No. 1, they will need to beat the Arizona Cardinals next week and the Eagles will lose to the New York Giants.
How can the 49ers get the 1 seed?
In order for the 49ers to do so, they need to beat the Arizona Cardinals at Levi’s Stadium next week and get the New York Giants to beat the Philadelphia Eagles (13-3).
What are the 4 main college bowl games?
New Year’s Six, sometimes abbreviated as NY6, is sometimes unofficial but commonly used to describe the following NCAA Division I Football Bowl (FBS) bowl games: Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl , the Cotton Bowl, the Peach Bowl, and the Fiesta Bowl.
What bowl games will be played in 2022? College Football Playoffs for 2022-2023 – RellQuest Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Citrus Bowl, and Rose Bowl.
What are the 4 major college bowls?
Rose Bowl â Grand champion and Pac-10/Pac-12 champion. Fiesta Bowl â Big 12 champion. Orange Bowl â ACC champion. Sugar Bowl â SEC champion.
How many major college bowl games are there?
The six major bowl games, known as the New Year’s Six, alternate between the two semifinals and the final two that determine which teams will play in the College Football Playoff Finals.
What is the order of college football bowls?
The College Football Playoff consists of seven bowls: the Rose Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, the Peach Bowl, and the College Football Playoff.
