Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Semifinals to be on Saturdays, holidays
College Football Playoff seeks to boost television viewership with switch
In a move aimed to ensure better television viewership numbers, the College Football Playoff will only host future semifinals games on Saturdays and holidays.
“We had healthy discussions with a lot of people who love college football and we concluded that making these changes would be the right thing to do for our fans,” playoff executive director Bill Hancock said in a statement Thursday.
George Schroeder of USA Today was first to report the move.
“We tried to do something special with New Year’s Eve, even when it fell on a weekday,” Hancock said. “But after studying this to see if it worked, we think we can do better. These adjustments will allow more people to experience the games they enjoy so much. For these four years, our previous call is reversed.”
In the first season of the playoff, the semifinals took place on Jan. 1, with the games hosted by the Rose and Sugar bowls, both traditionally played on New Year’s Day. Television ratings for the inaugural games were 15.5 and 15.3, respectively.
Last season, the Orange and Cotton bowls hosted the semifinals, but they were played on Thursday, New Year’s Eve. Hancock and the playoff group had hoped fans would embrace the idea of watching the semifinals as a new New Year’s Eve tradition.
However, that wasn’t the case as viewership for both games dropped 16 percent from the previous year.
Hancock told reporters during SEC Media Days a few weeks back that the playoff suffered “a bit of a sophomore slump” in ratings during the New Year’s Eve games, but the group had the luxury of having time to make a decision to correct it. That decision came down Thursday.
The announcement won’t affect this year’s semifinals, which are to be played at the Fiesta and Peach bowls on Saturday, Dec. 31. The effect won’t be felt until 2018-19, when the games will be moved up to be played on Saturday, Dec. 29.
There will be at least one semifinal played on a weekday New Year’s Eve — Friday, Dec. 31, 2021 —which Hancock pointed out is a federally observed holiday.
“Moving these game dates will be a positive both for the out of town and local fans attending the game, as well as for those viewing on television nationally,” said Michael B. Chavies, president and chairman of the Orange Bowl Committee.
“These adjustments will allow more people to experience the games they enjoy so much.” Bill Hancock, College Football Playoff executive director