ESPN's Broadcast of Bowl Games Becomes Most-Watched in System's History
By: Caryn Robbins Jan. 03, 2018
ESPN's presentation of the COLLEGE FOOTBALL Playoff Semifinals is highlighted by achieving one of cable history's highest viewerships and earning double-digit year-over-year audience growth for both games. The massive audience for the CFP Semifinals, combined with the record-setting Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Playstation Fiesta Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, will result in ESPN delivering the most-watched New Year's Six ever.
ESPN's presentation of the COLLEGE FOOTBALL Playoff Semifinal at the ROSE BOWL GAME Presented by Northwestern Mutual featuring a thrilling showdown between Oklahoma and Georgia (5 p.m. ET) on New Year's Day delivered an audience of 26,826,000 viewers (ESPN +ESPN2), up 39% from last season's first CFP Semifinal on the same two networks and 71% from the 2015 season's first CFP Semifinal, also on ESPN and ESPN2. The viewership for the Bulldogs' last-play, double-overtime victory is comparable to the much-anticipated, record-breaking inaugural CFP Semifinal at the ROSE BOWL GAME (Jan. 1, 2015), (28,164,000 viewers). The nearly 27 million viewers for the Georgia-Oklahoma ROSE BOWL GAME simulcast on ESPN and ESPN2 is the fifth most-watched cable telecast of all time. As a result, the COLLEGE FOOTBALL Playoff system now represents four of the five most-watched cable telecasts of all time.| Rank | Viewership | Date | Matchup | Network |
| 1 | 33,395,000 | 1/12/2015 | CFP National Championship (Oregon/Ohio State) | ESPN |
| 2 | 28,271,000 | 1/1/2015 | CFP Semifinal SUGAR BOWL (Ohio State vs. Alabama) | ESPN |
| 3 | 28,164,000 | 1/1/2015 | CFP Semifinal Rose Bowl (Florida State vs. Oregon) | ESPN |
| 4 | 27,316,000 | 1/10/2011 | BCS National Championship (Oregon vs. Auburn) | ESPN |
| 5 | 26,826,000 | 1/1/2018 | CFP Semifinal Rose Bowl (Georgia vs. Oklahoma) | ESPN/ESPN2 |
List excludes any sustaining telecasts
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