The ACC CG had the lowest TV ratings of the five P5 Conference Championships. Is that indicative of a trend, or is something else at work? To find out, let's analyze some historical data...
Here are the viewership numbers for the last 11 ACC Championship Games:
| Year | Winner | Loser | Nat'l Stakes? | Viewers(M) | |
| 2012 | #13 Florida St | Ga Tech* | No | 1.97 | ==== |
| 2013 | #1 Florida St | #20 Duke | Yes | 5.7 | ============ |
| 2014 | #2 Florida St | #12 Ga Tech | Yes | 10.1 | ==================== |
| 2015 | #1 Clemson | #8 N Carolina | Yes | 7.9 | ================ |
| 2016 | #3 Clemson | #19 Va Tech | Yes | 5.34 | ========== |
| 2017 | #1 Clemson | #7 Miami | Yes | 5.43 | =========== |
| 2018 | #2 Clemson | Pitt | Yes | 4.24 | ======== |
| 2019 | #3 Clemson | #22 Virginia | Yes | 3.97 | ======== |
| 2020 | #3 Clemson | #2 Notre Dame | Yes | 11.65 | ======================= |
| 2021 | #15 Pitt | #16 Wake Forest | No | 2.66 | ===== |
| 2022 | #9 Clemson | #23 N Carolina | No | 3.47 | ======= |
From this, I think we see two things at work:
1. When there are national championship stakes, the ACC CG gets higher TV ratings. This bodes well for the new 12-team playoff, where the top 6 conference champs get auto-bids (and the top 4 get first round byes). I think we can assume that the ACC will be in that mix more often than not.
2. From 2016 to 2019, the ACC was fairly dominated by Clemson - and there was a downward trend during that time period. Call it "Tiger fatigue" if it needs a name.
One more thing, and it's in the theory stage at the moment: Florida State draws more viewers than Clemson. All things being equal, the ACC gets better ratings when FSU is in the CCG. I have a hunch we'll be able to test that theory next season.
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