New Year's Eve College Football Playoff Ratings Were So Bad ESPN Owes Advertisers $20 Million Back
Broadcasting & Cable – Despite the efforts of the College Football Playoff committee and some media outlets downplaying the financial hit ESPN took by being forced to televise the two national championship semi-final games on New Year’s Eve, media buyers say the network owes upwards of $20 million in ad makegoods for ratings shortfalls for the two games.
ESPN may have gotten a bit greedy when setting its ratings estimates and offering higher guarantee levels to advertisers for the two games, knowing audiences might not flock to their TV sets, despite the optimism of the CFP committee. However, advertisers are concerned about next season’s potential audience levels for the games, which will also be televised on New Year’s Eve. Even if the ratings guarantees by ESPN are set lower, advertisers would prefer the games be moved to New Year’s Day or even on consecutive primetime nights, exclusive of New Year’s Eve, when more people would likely watch.
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Absolutely hilarious. Listen everybody knew that playing the College Football Playoff on New Year’s Eve was one of the worst decisions in sports and television history. Airing the biggest games of the season on a night that any guy with a wife, girlfriend, or any sort of social life whatsoever can barely actually see. Basically ruining it for anyone in the, I don’t know, 16-65 demographic? Is that demo important?
But just complaining about it in blogs and on social media is one thing – to actually see companies losing boatloads of money and getting raked over the coals by their partners is some sweet sweet justice. ESPN forced to give advertisers $20 million of “makegoods” because of how much money and audience they lost from the putrid ratings.
And how is the CFB committee responding? Easy. Sticking to their guns. Double down. Fuck it, triple down.
But CFP committee officials are on record as adamantly supporting the continued airing of the playoff series games on New Year’s Eve as scheduled, which will occur in seven of the remaining 10 years of the 12-year original deal. And that position has been taken even after the 36% combined ratings decline for the two games was disclosed.
The CFP’s Hancock told The New York Times this week, “We don’t make decisions based on television numbers. I don’t have a TV number that influences my measurable for success.”
Talk about a slap in the face to his media partner ESPN which is now some $20 million in the hole because of Hancock’s arrogance, after the network paid the CFP $600 million for the TV rights of the bowl games, including the two New Year’s Eve semi-finals.
As Hancock told USA Today this week, “Let’s see what happens. We’re confident that every year will be different and over time these games will be ingrained into a part of the New Year’s Eve tradition.”
The arrogance is almost impressive. But what else would you expect from anyone associated with the NCAA? Common sense and admitting you made a mistake are foreign concepts to these people.
Poor ESPN
Meanwhile ESPN, despite its “partnership” with the CFP, finds itself alone on the island with no help from the committee or its leadership.
As Hancock told USA Today this week, “Let’s see what happens. We’re confident that every year will be different and over time these games will be ingrained into a part of the New Year’s Eve tradition.”
And while it waits for that to happen, ESPN can lower its ratings guarantees, charge less for its ads, and not cover the $600 million TV rights fee it is paying the CFP.