ESPN’s Megacast presentation of the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T on January 11, 2016 – an Alabama 45-40 victory over Clemson – delivered a 16.0 overnight rating, ESPN’s third-best overnight for any game, ever, across all sports. Among the six national championship games ESPN has televised, last night’s CFP National Championship scored a higher overnight than the final three BCS National Championships (2011, 2012, 2013 seasons), and trails only last year’s inaugural CFP National Championship and ESPN’s first ever national championship game (2010 season).
Additional Television Highlights:
- Birmingham was the No. 1 local market, earning a 59.2 overnight, the market’s third best overnight for a post season college football game on ESPN. Greenville was the second highest local market, achieving a 39.0, the market’s best overnight ever for a post season college football game on ESPN.
- Including Greenville, six markets set a new ESPN post season college football record high: Atlanta (30.1), Charlotte (22.8), Nashville (29.1), Raleigh-Durham (20.2) and Norfolk (18.4)
- The top 10 metered markets: Birmingham (59.2), Greenville (39.0), Atlanta (30.1), Nashville (29.1), Knoxville (28.4), New Orleans (25.6), Jacksonville (24.8), Columbus (23.0), Charlotte (22.8) and West Palm Beach (20.3).
Alabama-Clemson Sets New WatchESPN Records
Digitally, Alabama-Clemson — presented on multiple streams on WatchESPN through the ESPN Megacast — ranked as the best game ever on WatchESPN across all major metrics, excluding the 2014 FIFA World Cup
Additionally, the two CFP National Championship games (Ohio State vs. Oregon and Alabama vs. Clemson) represent WatchESPN’s two most-streamed games ever on WatchESPN across all major metrics, excluding the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Last night’s game experienced a 23% increase in average minute impressions, 38% in unique viewers, and 32% in total minutes compared to the inaugural CFP National Championship.
For additional details visit ESPN Media Zone where this article was originally published
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
