Numbers are out and it doesn’t look good

…via Sports Media Watch

Thursday’s Alabama/Michigan State Cotton Bowl, part of the College Football Playoff, drew a 9.6 rating and 18.6 million viewers on ESPN according to the Associated Press — down 37% in ratings and 34% in viewership from Ohio State/Alabama in last year’s comparable Sugar Bowl (15.2, 28.3M).

The Clemson/Oklahoma Orange Bowl had a 9.0 and 15.6 million earlier in the day, down 39% and 45%, respectively, from last year’s Oregon/Florida State Rose Bowl (14.8, 28.2M).

Last year’s games were the two most-watched programs in cable television history at the time, and currently rank second and third. Neither of this year’s games even cracked the top ten, with the Cotton Bowl ranking 16th. Further, the games rank as the lowest rated bowls with championship implications since the formation of the Bowl Coalition in 1992.