Dave Portnoy has claimed that “nobody cared” about Monday's national championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame after dismal viewership numbers emerged on Wednesday.
Ohio State's 34-23 victory in Atlanta was the most-watched game of the college football season. However, it was a double-digit drop in viewers from last year.
ESPN announced Wednesday that the Buckeyes' second national championship of the CFP era averaged 22.1 million viewers.
It was the most-watched non-NFL sporting event over the past year, but a 12 percent drop from the 25 million who tuned in for Michigan's 34-13 win over Washington in 2024.
It was the third-lowest viewership of the 11 CFP title games, and all three occurred in the last five years. Viewership peaked at 26.1 million viewers during the second quarter when the game was tied 7-7.
Portnoy stated in the build-up to the game that interest was low, due to a number of factors, including the caliber of the two teams and the clash with Donald Trump's inauguration.
The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame in the CFP National Championship on Monday
Portnoy stated in the build-up to the match that interest was low due to a number of factors.
He doubled down on that belief in a post on X responding to the audience figures announcement.
The Barstool Sports boss posted: 'Wow. Like I said, no one cared.
'Too far in the NFL playoffs, fourth-place conference team, opening. If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, it makes some noise.'
The game also followed what was an exciting weekend of NFL playoff action with the Buffalo Bills' victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night, capping off two exciting days.
Taylor Swift watched as the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Houston Texans on Saturday, the Washington Commanders defeated the Detroit Lions and the Philadelphia Eagles won a war of attrition against the Los Angeles Rams in the snow.
Since Alabama's 26-23 overtime victory over Georgia in 2018, the last seven title games have had an average margin of victory of 25.4 points.
Ohio State held a 31-7 lead midway through the third quarter before Notre Dame rallied to within one possession with five minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Georgia's 65-7 rout of TCU in 2023 was the least-watched title game (17.2 million), followed by Alabama's 52-24 victory over Ohio State in 2021 (18.7 million).
The Buckeyes' second national championship in the CFP era averaged 22.1 million viewers on ESPN
The first title game in 2015, the Buckeyes' 42-20 victory over Oregon, remains the most watched college football game by viewers in the CFP era, according to Nielsen, with 33.9 million.
This was the first year of the 12-team field. The first round had an average of 10.6 million viewers and the quarterfinals an average of 16.9 million. The semifinals averaged 19.2 million, a 17 percent decrease from last year.
However, both 2024 semi-final matches were played on January 1. Michigan's overtime victory over Alabama in the Rose Bowl drew a larger audience (27.7 million) than the Wolverines' victory in the title game.
CFP games ended up being nine of the 10 most-watched games this season. Georgia's overtime win over Texas in the SEC championship on ABC/ESPN was sixth at 16.6m.