The CFP semifinals on New Year’s Eve saw a TV viewership uptick this season compared to '15, but were still well below the audience figures for the first CFP semifinals two seasons ago, which fell on New Year's Day. Alabama’s 24-7 win over Washington in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl drew 19.34 million viewers across ESPN and ESPN2 (simulcast), up 23% from Clemson-Oklahoma last season. Alabama-Washington had a 3:00pm ET start, whereas Clemson-OU last year began at 4:10pm. Two seasons ago, Oregon-Florida State in the early CFP semifinal window drew 28.16 million viewers on ESPN alone. Meanwhile, Clemson’s 31-0 win over Ohio State in the 7:00pm window on ESPN and ESPN2 drew 19.24 million viewers, up 3% from Alabama-Michigan State last season (8:20pm kickoff), but well below the 28.27 million viewers for Ohio State-Alabama two seasons ago in the primetime window. This season’s CFP semis fell on a Saturday, whereas last year's semis fell on a Thursday in the middle of a work week. Last season’s ESPN2 CFP simulcasts were in Spanish, whereas this season offered a “Command Center” with different camera views simultaneously. The semifinals also set streaming records for WatchESPN, drawing the most-streamed New Year's Six and non-CFB championship games ever on the platform (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
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CFP SEMIFINAL VIEWERSHIP
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DATE
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BOWL
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MATCHUP
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NET(S)
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START
(ET)
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VIEWERS
(000)
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Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016
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Peach
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Alabama-Washington
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ESPN/ESPN2
|
3:00pm
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19,344
|
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Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016
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Fiesta
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Clemson-Ohio State
|
ESPN/ESPN2
|
7:00pm
|
19,236
|
|
Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015
|
Orange
|
Clemson-Oklahoma
|
ESPN/ESPN2
|
4:10pm
|
15,730
|
|
Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015
|
Cotton
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Alabama-Michigan State
|
ESPN/ESPN2
|
8:20pm
|
18,641
|
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Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015
|
Rose
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Oregon-Florida State
|
ESPN
|
5:09pm
|
28,164
|
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Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015
|
Sugar
|
Ohio State-Alabama
|
ESPN
|
8:56pm
|
28,271
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RUN DEFENSE: In N.Y., Nicholas Parco writes during the Oklahoma-Auburn Sugar Bowl last night Brent Musburger went "out of his way at the beginning of the broadcast to share his thoughts" on Oklahoma RB Joe Mixon, calling him "just one of the best." Musburger: "It was troubling, very troubling to see. ... let’s hope, given a second chance by Bob Stoops and Oklahoma, let’s hope that this young man makes the most of his chance and goes on to have a career." Musburger's comments at the beginning of the broadcast were "met with backlash online, so Musburger doubled down later in the game." Musberger: "What he did with that young lady was brutal, uncalled for, he’s apologized, he was tearful. He got a second chance from Bob Stoops. I happen to pull for people with second chances" (
N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/3). YAHOO SPORTS' Graham Watson noted Musburger "didn't really mention the details." Instead he "heaped praise on Mixon and hoped he ultimately had a good NFL career." Watson: "Seriously" (
SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/2). Twitter went to town on Musburger's comments, as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's
Ben Frederickson tweeted, "ESPN could have used the Joe Mixon story to address a huge problem in sports. Instead Brent Musburger wished him a lengthy NFL career. Yeesh." Louisville-based WDRB-Fox'
Rick Bozich: "Plenty of empathy for Joe Mixon. ... Not a word about the woman Mixon slugged. Embarrassing, but not surprising." Oxford Eagle's
Davis Potter: "Musburger just needs to stop talking about the Joe Mixon incident. Because he's failing miserably." AL.com's
James Crepea: "What a train wreck." Fox Sports'
Clay Travis: "Musburger just attempted to walk back his Joe Mixon comments and was just as bad the second time.
BLAST FROM THE PAST: Keith Jackson attended yesterday's USC-Penn State Rose Bowl, and the 88-year-old broadcasting legend made a brief appearance on ESPN's telecast. SEC Network's Tony Barnhart thanked game announcers Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit "for giving us a few minutes with the great Keith Jackson." Barnhart: "Whoa Nellie! He is the best that ever was." Fox' Wes Durham: "Take a knee kids here's the 'voice of college football' in our lifetime. God bless you Keith Jackson. Well done, @cbfowler & @KirkHerbstreit." ESPN's Max Bretos: "His voice cracking from the years, you can still hear a sliver of that magic tenor on Keith Jackson. He is the all time best." College Football News' Pete Fiutak: "Keith Jackson's voice - even now - is still college football." CBS News' Josh Elliott: "I'd listen to Keith Jackson, however frail-voiced, talk over a Rose Bowl broadcast for as long as he wants. Best to ever call the sport."
