Did Ohio State beat Michigan in CFP national championship ratings? A look at the two showdown’s viewership

The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-23 in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday. They won the game while drawing 22.1 million viewers. It was the most-watched non-NFL sporting event in the USA over the past year, according to ESPN.

While those numbers are impressive, they were worse than what Michigan achieved the previous year when they defeated the Washington Huskies in the title game. That game drew 25.05 million viewers. That is a nearly 12% decrease in viewership from the previous year.

Why did the National Championship game draw lower viewership than the year prior?

Trey Wallace of OutKick speculates that one of the reasons for decreased leadership in this year's National Championship Game is college football fatigue. Since the start of the College Football Playoff in the 2014 season, the latest the title game has been held was on January 13th in the 2019 season. In six of the previous 10 seasons, the game was held on January 10th or earlier.

This season, the title game did not take place until January 20th. This is a time of year when fans are not used to watching college football, and as a result, Wallace speculates that they might not be as interested in watching it. Typically, late January is a time when football fans are focused on the NFL playoffs.

Notably, the National Championship Game also took place on the Monday after the second round of the NFL playoffs. Fans got to watch four playoff games on the Saturday and Sunday before the title game. As a result, it is realistic that Wallace is right about fatigue setting in for fans on Monday.

Another factor that Wallace speculates could have been a factor is the Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump. The inauguration was held on Monday but finished before the game. However, news about what President Trump was doing on his first day in office was broadcast throughout the day.

In all likelihood, Trey Wallace speculates that the culmination of all of these factors contributed to lower ratings this year than last year when Michigan defeated Washington.

However, this season and the title game were still undoubtedly a success for the NCAA. The title game drew excellent viewership despite having lower numbers than last season, and the NCAA capitalized on viewership in more playoff games.