Saturday NFL draws larger audience than college games for rollout of 12-team playoff
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar (15) throws a pass while being pressured by SMU defensive end Jahfari Harvey (6) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA College Football Playoff, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in State College, Pa. Credit: AP/Barry Reeger
A pair of Saturday NFL games drew a larger viewing audience than college football for the rollout of the sport's 12-team playoff.
The playoff game between SMU and Penn State averaged 6.4 million viewers on TNT networks, compared with the Texans-Chiefs game on NBC, which averaged 15.5 million viewers.
Later, Clemson-Texas drew 8.6 million viewers on TNT, compared with 15.4 million for Steelers-Ravens on Fox.
ESPN, ABC and others aired the other two college games — Indiana-Notre Dame (13.4 million) on Friday night and Tennessee-Ohio State (14.3 million) on Saturday night. There were no competing NFL games.
The overall average of 10.6 million viewers was higher than all but four college games this season.
