First College Football Playoffs draw ratings record

The first College Football Playoff semifinals drew the two largest audiences in cable television history. ESPN had a 15.2 rating and averaged 28,271,000 viewers for its Sugar Bowl broadcast Thursday night after drawing a 14.8 rating and averaging 28,164,000 viewers for the Rose Bowl, Nielsen said Friday. Both games had significant increases from last year on ESPN when the Rose Bowl had a 10.2 rating and averaged 18,636,000 viewers and the Sugar Bowl had a 6.6 rating and averaged 11,304,000 viewers. ESPN also will broadcast the Jan. 12 national championship game between Oregon and Ohio State. – Associated Press