College Football Playoff to remain on New Year’s Eve

Despite the massive drop in ratings for the College Football Playoff, the semifinal games will remain on New Year’s Eve.

The College Football Playoff went through a massive drop in quality compared to last year, not just on the field but on the Nielsen TV ratings as well. The ratings for the two semifinal games on New Year’s Eve were a respectable 18 million viewers, but compared to last year when 28 million people tuned in, it’s a significant drop-off.

A big reason for that drop-off was because of the scheduling change. The first College Football Playoff semifinal games took place on New Year’s Day, while this year it was on New Year’s Eve, when most people aren’t near a TV set until close to midnight when they’re watching the ball drop. However, despite the questionable decision – and the results to back it up – this will not change the plans of CFP executive director Bill Hancock. In an interview with Fox Sports, he stated the (scheduling) contract is in place for 12 years, and that they haven’t thought about changing it.

Hancock also thinks that the viewership would’ve been bigger if the playoff games, and the rest of the New Year’s Six games, weren’t so lopsided. However it’s more likely that people weren’t watching the games because they were too busy ringing in the New Year. He stated that one year does not make a trend, and that they will wait three more years before considering a scheduling change.

ESPN might force the CFP to make a change sooner since they’re the ones broadcasting the games. It seems like the only people who realize scheduling games on New Year’s Eve are a bad idea while their “plan accordingly” ads were downright cringe-worthy. It makes no sense why Bill Hancock would change the scheduling of the College Football Playoff when the first year was so successful, and refusing to consider a change back makes even less sense. Hopefully this will be an issue that sorts itself out sooner rather than later.