[Matt Hayes] The SEC willingly flushed its conference championship game that last year had better ratings than all eight first round CFP games of the brief, 12-team era.

[u/CrashB111]

https://x.com/MattHayesCFB/status/2111056779366785054

[u/Pinewood74]

No, we're not. Net $155M is fucking peanuts when you really think about it. Not even $3M on average per P4 school.

And that's only accounting for the CCGs.

Still need to deduct the bowl game losses. And I wouldn't be the least bit shocked if late season matchups lose some juice.

And I also think that ESPN is vastly overestimating the interest level in these first round matchups. I don't think Georgia Tech vs BYU is really pulling much national audience when everyone is expecting the winner to get clobbered on the road by Georgia.

[u/Calithrand → u/Pinewood74]

Weirdly, I have found that the quarter/semifinals in the CFP era to be significantly more entertaining than the championship game. Like, to the extent that I've fallen asleep watching the championship game in at least two different years.

[u/garfinkel3 → u/Calithrand]

By the time the championship game rolls around, I’ve almost forgotten football is still on

[u/thesymbiont → u/garfinkel3]

Shit my team is usually in the mix and I almost forget it's on