• Third-Most Watched Semifinals and Best in Past Five Years
• Two Best Individual Semifinals Since 2017-18, Fourth and Fifth Best Ever
• Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Becomes Most-Watched Primetime CFP Semifinal Since Year 1, Top 20 Cable Telecast on Record
• Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Secures Highest Share of Any CFP Semifinal or Championship
• Most-Watched New Year’s Six in Three Years

The 2022 College Football Playoff Semifinals delivered a bevy of record-breaking viewership and history-making moments, securing the most-watched non-New Year’s Day Semifinals on record now with final Nielsen viewership figures. Across both of ESPN’s MegaCast presentations, the two games averaged 22.1 million viewers and 7.6 million P18-49 viewers on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. The audience is the best in the past five years and becomes the third-most watched Semifinals in the CFP era.

The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and Vrbo Fiesta Bowl are the two most-viewed individual Semifinals since the 2017-18 season and now rank as the fourth and fifth best, respectively. Both games are among the top five non-NFL telecasts on broadcast or cable since the start of 2022, and reached more than 42 million total viewers between them, 11 percent year-over-year growth. The audience finished up 30 percent among P2+ viewers and 29 percent among P18-49 viewers over 2021. The pair of Semifinal games attracted a 34.4 P2+ and 46.8 P18-49 share across the two games, the highest for both demos in the CFP era.

The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl secured 22.4 million viewers, the most-watched primetime CFP Semifinal since Year 1 and a top 20 cable telecast of all time. It’s the best non-NFL telecast across broadcast or cable since last year’s CFP National Championship, and peaked just before halftime (9:45-10 p.m. ET) with 24.3 million viewers. It notched 7.9 million P18-49 viewers as Georgia clinched its spot in the program’s second consecutive national title game.

The Vrbo Fiesta Bowl scored 21.7 million viewers to become the third-most watched afternoon CFP Semifinal of the CFP era. The Michigan-TCU matchup peaked with 26.9 million viewers as TCU upset Michigan in the game’s closing minutes. The Big Ten-Big 12 battle brought in 7.3 million P18-49 viewers, and half of all P18-49 viewers watching television during this game were tuned into the action. With a 36.1 P2+ share and 50.3 P18-49 share, the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl registered the highest share of any CFP Semifinal or Championship on record.

Additional New Year’s Six Superlatives:

• The 2022-23 New Year’s Six averaged nearly 13 million viewers across all six games, up year-over-year and the most-watched New Year’s Six in three years.
• The Sugar Bowl between Alabama and Kansas State drew 9.1 million viewers and 3.0 million P18-49 viewers, the best audience for a noon game leading into the CFP Semifinals on record.
• Friday’s Orange Bowl between Tennessee and Clemson averaged 8.7 million viewers and 2.6 million P18-49 viewers on ESPN and ESPNU, the most-watched non-Semifinal Orange Bowl since 2017 (Wisconsin/Miami) and the best standalone weekday New Year’s Six in primetime since 2017 (Cotton Bowl – USC/Ohio State). The audience for the window was up 14 percent year-over-year.

Additional Holiday Week Highlights:

• TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (Notre Dame/South Carolina): 5.8M viewers (best since Jan. 2016)
  • Most-watched non-NY6 bowl game on ESPN since 2015-16 season (Jan. 2016)
• Cheez-It Bowl (Oklahoma/Florida State): 5.4M viewers (best since Dec. 2013)
• Valero Alamo Bowl (Texas/Washington): 4.8M viewers (best since Dec. 2019)
• AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Kansas/Arkansas): 3.9M viewers (second-best since Jan. 2016)
• Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl (Wake Forest/Missouri): 3.5M viewers (best since Dec. 2008)

Most-Watched Non-NY6 Bowls on ESPN Platforms Through Dec. 31