The 2026 CFP Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential averaged 23.9 million viewers (up 13 percent year-over-year) and ranked, at the time, as the second most-watched sports event outside the NFL in the past year, as well as the most-watched non-championship game of the 12-team CFP era and larger than 18 of the previous 22 CFP Semifinal audiences. The matchup of Indiana and Alabama peaked at 25.6 million viewers.

Among the other Playoff Quarterfinals, the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic posted 19.0 million viewers (up 37 percent year-over-year), peaking at 21.6 million. The Allstate Sugar Bowl averaged 18.7 million viewers (up 18 percent year-over-year), peaking at 21.4 million. The Capital One Orange Bowl averaged 15.9 million viewers. Quarterfinal performances helped propel ESPN to its third most-watched day ever on January 1, 2026, with the network averaging 9.4 million viewers in the average minute (trailing only New Year's Day 2015 and 2018).

The Rose Bowl Game also surpassed the CFP Semifinal ratings, as the Peach Bowl drew 18.0 million viewers, a top-three audience on record for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, with a peak of 21.4 million in the first half. The Playoff Semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl averaged 15.8 million viewers, peaking at 17.2 million in the final minutes as Miami clinched its berth in the National Championship.