bluedog
"Leader of Kings"
DALLAS (AP) — Jimmy Kimmel told people to watch. Even soap opera stars on "General Hospital" made not-so-subtle references to making plans to watch the College Football Playoff on New Year's Eve.
All the prodding and promoting wasn't enough to convince many fans to tune in.
College football's move to create a new tradition with semifinal matchups on New Year's Eve drew ratings more than a third lower than last season, when the matchups were held on New Year's Day.
The Orange Bowl between Clemson and Oklahoma, which kicked off about 4:10 p.m. EST on ESPN, drew a 9.1 rating, a 38.5 percent drop compared to last year's Rose Bowl, which got a 14.8 rating. The number of viewers dropped 44.5 percent from 28,164,000 for the Rose to just 15,640,000 for the Orange.
The Michigan State-Alabama Cotton Bowl drew a 9.6 rating for ESPN compared to 15.2 for Ohio State-Alabama in the Sugar Bowl last Jan. 1 — a 36.8 percent drop. Total viewership crashed 34.4 percent, going from 28,271,000 to 18,552,000.
College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock told the AP he was still awaiting the results of the New Year's Day games.
"It's just not appropriate to talk until all the results are in. I guess it's like asking a coach to talk about a whole game at halftime," he said.
The dramatic matchups and results of last year's first College Football Playoff semifinals led to record-breaking cable audiences for ESPN.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...ge-football-playoff-down-36-percent/78178798/
All the prodding and promoting wasn't enough to convince many fans to tune in.
College football's move to create a new tradition with semifinal matchups on New Year's Eve drew ratings more than a third lower than last season, when the matchups were held on New Year's Day.
The Orange Bowl between Clemson and Oklahoma, which kicked off about 4:10 p.m. EST on ESPN, drew a 9.1 rating, a 38.5 percent drop compared to last year's Rose Bowl, which got a 14.8 rating. The number of viewers dropped 44.5 percent from 28,164,000 for the Rose to just 15,640,000 for the Orange.
The Michigan State-Alabama Cotton Bowl drew a 9.6 rating for ESPN compared to 15.2 for Ohio State-Alabama in the Sugar Bowl last Jan. 1 — a 36.8 percent drop. Total viewership crashed 34.4 percent, going from 28,271,000 to 18,552,000.
College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock told the AP he was still awaiting the results of the New Year's Day games.
"It's just not appropriate to talk until all the results are in. I guess it's like asking a coach to talk about a whole game at halftime," he said.
The dramatic matchups and results of last year's first College Football Playoff semifinals led to record-breaking cable audiences for ESPN.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...ge-football-playoff-down-36-percent/78178798/
