ESPN, NFL lobby for changes in College Football Playoff calendar

BleedGopher

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per Sports Business Journal:

The College Football Playoff is under pressure on two fronts to adjust future schedules for its semifinals and championship games, sources say, but the CFP is standing firm on its original dates.

On one of those fronts, top ESPN executives are lobbying CFP officials to move next season’s semifinals off of New Year’s Eve where it would compete with highly rated star-filled countdown shows on several networks.

Next season’s semifinals at the Capital One Orange Bowl and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl are scheduled for Dec. 31 but ESPN is pushing the CFP to move those games to Jan. 2, 2016, a Saturday with relatively little competition on TV. The NFL’s regular season concludes that Sunday, Jan. 3, and the league hasn’t had a Saturday game during the final week of its regular season since 2007.

Sources say that senior network executives as high up as ESPN President John Skipper are pushing for the change as a way to get better television ratings, but the CFP is unwilling to make such a move because it is committed to the original plan to hold tripleheader bowl games, including the semifinals, on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2015/01/26/Events-and-Attractions/CFP.aspx

Go Gophers!!
 

I hope they don't touch a thing. It was the most college football I've ever watched on a New Year's Day, Minnesota had a lot to do with that too.
 

Just don't take the Rose Bowl off of New Year's Day whenever it's a semifinal
 

So which would you rather watch: Ryan Seacrest or a national semifinal?
 

I can't believe I am agreeing with ESPN on something but they are exactly right about this. Having semi finals on New Years Eve is the dumbest thing... ever.
 


The major bowls should not be used for the playoff games - playoffs should have their own events and not so close to the final playoff game.
 


ESPN will ultimately get its way on this. It always does.

Unfortunately I agree with this. The money will always win and moving the games to a Saturday with little other sporting events going will mean the highest viewership/money for ESPN...
 

I hope they don't touch a thing. It was the most college football I've ever watched on a New Year's Day, Minnesota had a lot to do with that too.

They are talking about December 31st....not January 1st.
 



Don't know how else to say this, but I hope the CFP commissioners tell ESPN and Commissioner Goodell to, "F off." Stay firm to the dates they agreed to with ESPN, then we'll find out how the TV ratings fare on New Year's Eve. If the ratings are awful (they won't be, it's the 2 semifinals), then they can revisit having some flexibility some other time.

Probably won't happen, CFP commissioners will likely cave to the Mother Ship, but I'd love to see the CFP go head to head vs. a NFL wildcard game. There's good reason Goodell is worried about that.
 

Don't know how else to say this, but I hope the CFP commissioners tell ESPN and Commissioner Goodell to, "F off." Stay firm to the dates they agreed to with ESPN, then we'll find out how the TV ratings fare on New Year's Eve. If the ratings are awful (they won't be, it's the 2 semifinals), then they can revisit having some flexibility some other time.

Probably won't happen, CFP commissioners will likely cave to the Mother Ship, but I'd love to see the CFP go head to head vs. a NFL wildcard game. There's good reason Goodell is worried about that.

The CFP is on ESPN right? Probably wouldn't be a good comparison to NFL playoffs in terms of ratings.

But I can tell you which one I'd be watching. CFP all the way unless the Vikings were playing.
 

Don't know how else to say this, but I hope the CFP commissioners tell ESPN and Commissioner Goodell to, "F off." Stay firm to the dates they agreed to with ESPN, then we'll find out how the TV ratings fare on New Year's Eve. If the ratings are awful (they won't be, it's the 2 semifinals), then they can revisit having some flexibility some other time.

Probably won't happen, CFP commissioners will likely cave to the Mother Ship, but I'd love to see the CFP go head to head vs. a NFL wildcard game. There's good reason Goodell is worried about that.
I'll give you a free preview of that ratings battle: The NFL wins. The NFL has legions of viewers who don't watch or follow any other sports.
 

It doesn't have anything to do with Dec 31st, 2015 falling on a Thursday night, does it NFL?
 



I'll give you a free preview of that ratings battle: The NFL wins. The NFL has legions of viewers who don't watch or follow any other sports.

You're probably right, but I'd still like to see the ratings of the CFP championship game vs. a first-round Monday night wildcard game (on a network not named ESPN), which Goodell is eye-balling if the NFL adds 2 more wildcard teams. NFL definitely #1 in this country, but somehow I think a CFP title game would fare just fine vs. an NFL playoff game most likely featuring a couple pedestrian 9-7 wildcards.
 

NFL doesn't play Thursday or Saturday the last weekend of the season...all is on Sunday. This is about ESPN wanting a huge saturday and because NYE is dominated by music and countdown shows.
 

Its too bad I love the New Year's 6 schedule and how they pulled it off. Plus it provides some continuity year to year and the Rose Bowl doesn't get co-opted that often...

I hope Delaney/Silve and co. can lay the dick down on the table if need be and walk from ESPN to Fox if they need to for future playoff contracts, they have a great setup and networks should be accommodating.
 




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