CFP games top 10M average, but NFL wins head-to-head

Field Level Media|published: Tue 24th December, 13:07 2024

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) celebrates a touchdown by running back TreVeyon Henderson during the second half of the College Football Playoff first round game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Dec. 22, 2024. Ohio State won 42-17.

The NFL won the head-to-head battle for viewers with the College Football Playoff.

Front Office Sports, citing figures from Nielsen, reported Tuesday that the Kansas City Chiefs' 27-19 win over the Houston Texans on Saturday averaged 15.5 million viewers on NBC, more than double the average of 6.4 million people who watched Penn State defeat SMU 38-10 on TNT Sports in the same time frame.

The Baltimore Ravens' 34-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers drew an average of 15.4 million for Fox Sports, while 8.6 million viewers tuned in to see Texas defeat Clemson 38-24in the College Football Playoff on TNT.

The CFP games returned stronger ratings when they weren't matched up against an NFL game, however.

Ohio State's 42-17 victory over Tennessee, played in primetime on Saturday night, averaged 14.3 million viewers on ESPN. The network also saw strong ratings for Notre Dame's 27-17 win over Indiana on Friday night with an average of 13.4 million.

All four first-round CFP games were played at campus sites. They averaged 10.6 million viewers overall, per Front Office Sports, which noted that figure exceeded the ratings for all but four college football broadcasts this season.

--Field Level Media