Ratings in the College Football Playoff are down 12 percent

Can there be too much football on TV?

That’s one possible explanation for the downward trend in the NFL playoffs and the decline in attendance at the college football national championship.

Via Austin Karp of Sports business journalOhio State-Notre Dame game on Monday night decreased by 12 percent compared to last year’s game between Michigan and Washington.

The total audience for the 2024 championship was 22.1 million, down from 25 million for the 2023 championship.

The expanded college championship resulted in five consecutive days of postseason action from Thursday, January 9th through Monday, January 13th. Total attendance for the NFL’s Wild Card round dropped 9.5 percent.

Then came the three-day playoff weekend, with two NFL divisional round games on Saturday, two on Sunday and the college championship game on Monday night. NFL audiences are down 8.5 percent from last year.

For years, the college football championship was decided on or around New Year’s Day. Then came the playoffs for four teams. Now, with a 12-team tournament, there are more college playoff games going up against NFL playoff games.

And the numbers say that for some more is less.