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The College Football Playoff National Championship delivered the second-best showing for a NCAA football title on Monday night.
ESPN’s coverage of the Georgia-Alabama game averaged a 16.7 overnight rating among households, dominating everything else on TV Monday night and growing 9 percent from the comparable game last year. It ranks behind the 2015 Ohio State-Oregon game as the highest-rated in network history.
The game naturally fared best in Birmingham, home of the winners. The Crimson Tide narrowly bested the Georgia Bulldogs 26-23. It was the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship to go into overtime.
Playoff coverage was up 18 percent, overall, compared to the previous year — with New Year’s Day posting its best returns yet.
