The Capital One Orange Bowl "has been moved from a scheduled early afternoon start on Saturday, Dec. 31, to a prime time game on Friday, Dec. 30," as part of a "domino effect of moving kickoff times an hour earlier for the two national semifinal games next season," according to Barry Jackson of the MIAMI HERALD. Viewership dropped by more than 40% for the two semifinal games last season over '14-15, and "many blamed that drop on the fact that the games were played" at 4:00pm ET and 8:00pm on New Year’s Eve, compared with Jan. 1 the previous season. This year's games will start at 3:00pm and 7:00pm on Dec. 31, an "hour earlier than this past season’s semifinals, with the sequence of the games to be determined on Dec. 4, shortly after the pairings are announced." As originally scheduled, the Cotton, Rose and Sugar Bowls "will be played on Monday, Jan. 2, to avoid a conflict with NFL games on Jan. 1" (MIAMI HERALD, 3/8). CFP Exec Dir Bill Hancock: “We looked at the landscape and we’re confident it will let more fans watch the games. In looking at the data, we found that ending the games earlier would let people watch the games and still enjoy their New Year’s Eve festivities.” He said that the changes were only for the '16 season -- and that there are "no plans to move the semifinals from New Year’s Eve." Hancock: "This is a one-time deal. We haven’t talked about the remaining nine years (of the contract). We had the opportunity because it was a Saturday to do this. ... We always want to make the games available to more fans" (USATODAY.com, 3/7).
