A.J. Perez

USA TODAY Sports

ESPN’s ratings for the College Football Playoff title game slipped despite a compelling contest between Alabama and Clemson on Monday night.

The network posted a 15.8 overnight rating for ESPN telecast, down 15% from last year, according to numbers released by ESPN on Tuesday. Alabama won its fourth national championship in the last seven years, 45-40, in a back-and-forth contest at University of Phoenix Stadium.

ESPN claimed a 16.0 rating with online streaming factored into viewership.

The ratings drop wasn’t nearly as precipitous as ESPN’s for the College Football Playoff semifinal games held on New Year's Eve. The overnight ratings for those broadcasts were down more than 36% from the prior year.

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ESPN reported record-high numbers for a non-World Cup contest on its WatchESPN app. The network reported more than 1.9 million unique viewers via the app, 500,000 more unique viewers compared to last year's title game between Oregon and Ohio State.

ESPN and sponsors are pushing the College Football Playoff to abandon New Year's Eve semifinal games. Currently, the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., and the Peach Bowl in Atlanta are scheduled for Dec. 31.