College football championship draws lackluster TV ratings

Television ratings for the College Football Playoff national championship game on Monday night in Glendale, Ariz., were down 15 percent over the 2015 game.

Alabama's 45-40 victory over Clemson drew a 15.8 overnight rating on ESPN compared with an 18.5 for last year's title matchup between Ohio State and Oregon, which set an ESPN viewership record.

The geographical proximity of the schools was cited as one factor that could have impacted the 2016 numbers, according to observers, with both schools located in the South. Last year, the two finalists were from the Midwest and the West Coast.

ESPN did report a record number of viewers for a non-World Cup game on its mobile app.

The lower televison ratings numbers followed a trend from the playoff semifinal matchups on Dec. 31. The New Year's Eve game between Clemson and Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl drew a 9.1 rating, a 38.5 percent drop over the semifinal in the Rose Bowl the previous year, and the Alabama-Michigan State matchup in the Cotton Bowl received a 9.6, a 38.6 percent decline from the semifinal in the Sugar Bowl the season before.