ESPN's "quiet lobbying behind the scenes" helped spur CFP officials to "give up their pipe dream of taking over New Year's Eve in the same way the NFL dominates Thanksgiving," according to Michael McCarthy of SPORTING NEWS. Last year's Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl "suffered catastrophic TV ratings drops" of 38.5 and 36.8%, respectively, when the CFP semifinals moved to New Year's Eve. ESPN Exec VP/Programming & Scheduling Burke Magnus said of the CFP, "We've been been talking to them. Obviously it's seven months gone by since the semifinals last year. But that conversation started in the pretty immediate aftermath of last year’s games." He added that ESPN "wasn't alone in suggesting the change," as other stakeholders "lobbied against New Year's Eve as well." Magnus "gives the CFP credit for biting the bullet and making the change without halfway measures." Magnus: "We were not alone in that conversation. There was a lot of stakeholders that suggested the same thing, that they address this issue" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 7/31). SI.com's Richard Deitsch noted ESPN contractually "had zero power to make changes," as CFP officials "controlled the dates." But "give ESPN executives credit." They "never criticized the CFP decision-makers publicly, but rather cautiously said they hoped to discuss better dates for fans in the future" (SI.com, 7/31).
