Report: ESPN, NFL want CFP to change date of semifinal games

Year one of the College Football Playoff was a huge success with the two semifinal games falling on New Year’s Day. Next year, however, the two semifinal games are scheduled for New Year’s Eve.

ESPN apparently isn’t too happy about it.

According to the Sports Business Journal, ESPN executives “are lobbying CFP officials” to move next season’s semifinal games – the Capital One Orange Bowl and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl – from New Year’s Eve to Saturday Jan. 2, 2016.

On New Year’s Eve, ESPN’s broadcasts would compete with a bevy of countdown broadcasts that bring in the New Year. With ratings in mind, ESPN is hoping for a change.

From the SBJ:

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.

Despite ESPN’s wishes, the CFP isn’t budging.

“We’ve started a new tradition and we don’t want to back away from it now,” said Bill Hancock, the CFP’s executive director.

The championship game drew record ratings (33.4 million viewers), while the semifinals each drew “more than 28 million viewers.” According to the SBJ, “ESPN insiders say they are prepared for double-digit drops in viewership” if the games stay on New Year’s Eve.

On top of the wishes of ESPN, the NFL is mulling the possibility of expanding its playoffs. One of its new playoff games could potentially be moved to Monday, which would “compete directly with the CFP championship.”

Because of this, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reportedly met with CFP commissioners to discuss a potential conflict.

From the SBJ:

Sources say NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell initiated a series of high-level meetings with some of the CFP’s most influential commissioners, including the SEC’s Mike Slive and the Big Ten’s Jim Delany. Goodell approached the commissioners to discuss the potential impact an NFL playoff expansion would have on the CFP championship game.

Additionally, Goodell reportedly “told the college commissioners that any playoff expansion likely would put a wild-card game on Monday night.”

The CFP’s 12-year contract with ESPN has the title game being played on a Monday night and Hancock said the CFP office is opposed to an NFL playoff game being played on the same night.

“We picked Monday night because it was open and it was the best night for our game. We announced that in June 2012,” Hancock said. “We established that our game was going to be on Monday night for 12 years.”

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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