Can there be too much football on television?
This is a potential explanation for the downward trend in the NFL playoffs and the decline in viewership for the College Football National Championship.
Via Austin Karp of Sports Affairs JournalMonday night Ohio State-Notre Dame game fell 12 percent compared to last year’s game between Michigan and Washington.
The total audience for the 2024 title game was 22.1 million, compared to 25 million for the 2023 championship.
The Expanded College Championship featured five consecutive days of postseason action, Thursday, January 9 through Monday, January 13. Total viewership for the NFL Wild Card round fell 9.5 percent.
Then came a three-day playoff weekend, with two NFL Divisional Round games on Saturday, two on Sunday and the College Championship on Monday night. NFL viewership fell 8.5 percent from last year.
For years, the college football champion was chosen on or around New Year’s Day. Then came the four-team playoffs. Now, with a 12-team tournament, there are more college playoff games clashing with NFL playoff games.
And the numbers suggest that, for some, more is less.
