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Morning Edition
January 23, 2026
After a topsy-turvy postseason of audience swings, the College Football Playoff ended with 30.1 million viewers for the title game, its biggest since 2015.
— Eric Fisher [[link removed]]
CFP Title Game Draws 30.1M Viewers, Most-Watched Since 2015 [[link removed]]
James Lang-Imagn Images
After plenty of back-and-forth with this year’s College Football Playoff viewership, the tournament ended on a historically strong note.
ESPN said late Thursday that Indiana’s 27–21 win over Miami [[link removed]] on Monday in the CFP championship game averaged 30.1 million viewers, up 36% from last year’s title game involving Ohio State and Notre Dame, which averaged 22.1 million viewers [[link removed]], and ranking as the second-most-watched CFP national championship matchup on record.
The total also represents the most-watched college football game of any kind since the 2014–15 season, and culminated a topsy-turvy run of audience data during the tournament. First-round viewership sagged 7% [[link removed]] from last year amid stiff NFL competition, followed by quarterfinals that surged by 14% [[link removed]], and then [[link removed]]the two semifinal games that retreated by double-digit percentages [[link removed]].
The last college football game to attract as many viewers was the inaugural CFP title game, won by Ohio State over Oregon in January 2015, when the event began with a four-team format.
Overall, the latest CFP finished the entire tournament with a per-game viewership of 16.3 million, up 4%. Before the championship game, though, the event was flat in its television audience from last year. The Hoosiers’ win over the Hurricanes peaked at 33.2 million viewers in the first half and ranks as the most-watched U.S. sports telecast, outside of the NFL, since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.
While Nielsen methodology enhancements, such as an expansion of out-of-home tabulation [[link removed]] and the arrival of the Big Data + Panel measurement process [[link removed]], help explain some of the viewership boosts, the latest figure also bolsters college football’s argument as the most popular sports entity in the U.S. behind the NFL.
For ESPN, meanwhile, the latest results extended a banner week for the Disney-owned outlet following a NFL divisional playoff game on Sunday between the Texans and Patriots that averaged 38 million viewers [[link removed]] on the network and sister channel ABC. That figure was the single-largest audience in ESPN’s history, spanning more than 46 years.
Indiana’s victory, meanwhile, sealed a perfect 16–0 season that instantly ranks as one of the most dominant runs ever in college football.
First at FOS Molly Qerim's First Gig Post-ESPN
FOS broke the news Thursday night that Molly Qerim will host Zuffa Boxing on Paramount+, her first gig since leaving ESPN’s “First Take” last year. Read the story [[link removed]].
Australian Open Fans Struggle With ESPN’s Tiered Streaming [[link removed]]
Mike Frey-Imagn Images
The Australian Open continues to draw big numbers in Melbourne, but the streaming coverage of the tournament has become a frustration for some U.S. viewers.
After ESPN rolled out its new direct-to-consumer streaming product [[link removed]] last August, its broadcasts of the tennis major this year are split across two different tiers of the service. Streams of marquee matches shown on linear channels, and some supplemental coverage from outer courts, are available through ESPN Select, the lower level of the service that formerly was ESPN+ and costs $12.99 per month.
Additional matches from three main courts at Melbourne Park—Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena, and John Cain Arena—are limited to the ESPN Unlimited level, which costs $29.99 per month.
That bifurcation [[link removed]], and the additional costs required to see all the matches online, have sparked widespread fan outrage.
“How am I paying for ESPN+, cable, and I still can’t watch [all of the] Australian Open until I upgrade to ESPN Unlimited? Do better,” read one fairly typical online comment [[link removed]].
It doesn’t get much clearer for traditional cable subscribers either, as some providers, such as Spectrum, have large-scale agreements with ESPN parent company Disney that include ESPN Unlimited [[link removed]], while others, such as Comcast and YouTube TV [[link removed]], do not yet have that level of integration.
ESPN did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The Australian Open, however, is not the first time ESPN has used a similar gating strategy. The recent College Football Playoff game, for example, included a similar segmentation of alternate game streams, including home team audio, to the ESPN Unlimited tier.
Results Down Under
The tournament, meanwhile, continues to draw unprecedented attendance totals, with a total turnout Thursday of 103,956, the biggest single-day figure in Australian Open history. Through five days of the main draw this week, the event has drawn 508,430, and remains on pace to smash last year’s total attendance of 1.22 million.
The latest attendance figures follow record-setting draws during the initial qualifying week, and similar to the massive growth seen at the US Open, are straining the operational limits [[link removed]] of Melbourne Park, site of the Australian Open, with rising complaints [[link removed]] over lengthening entry lines, elevated ticket and concession prices, and other fan experience elements.
What Else We’re Watching
Here are some other stories we’re watching today.
Trinity Rodman’s staying put with the Spirit—even as her new deal sparks a major NWSL salary dispute. Read the story [[link removed]]. Winter Storm Fern is shaking up sports schedules—but it could mean a big TV boost for Sunday’s NFL title games. Read the story [[link removed]]. Could Rex Ryan trade his ESPN studio seat for a Giants headset? The chatter says he might. Read the story [[link removed]]. Editors’ Picks Adidas Golf May Use Patrick Mahomes Strategy With Other Athletes [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]Mahomes’s contract extension includes a new golf line. Charles Barkley Wants Balanced Schedule for ‘Inside the NBA’ on ESPN [[link removed]]by Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]]“We’ve only been on ESPN four times in three months.” NFLPA Fired Lawyer Who Accused It of Retaliation [[link removed]]by Daniel Kaplan [[link removed]]The firing was disclosed in a previously unreported court filing. Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Games [[link removed]] Show [[link removed]] Shop [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]]
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