Sports business expert strongly suggests ESPN’s rating influence of Alabama’s controversial preference over FSU in College Playoff selection

According to research, Alabama generates more views compared to Florida State.

Sports business expert strongly suggests ESPN’s rating influence of Alabama’s controversial preference over FSU in College Playoff selection

Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell reacts on the sidelines during the second quarter against the Louisville Cardinalsat Bank of America Stadium. , (Image via IMAGO)

The Florida State Seminoles’ (FSU) exclusion from the college football playoffs (CFP) despite going the entire 2023 season unbeaten has generated several conspiracy theories. Mike Norvell‘s team lost out to the more popular Alabama Crimson Tide.

Of course, the CFP committee came out and tried to give an example as best they could. One of them was the loss of FSU’s quarterback, Jordan Travis, to a season-ending injury. Chairman Booger Carrigan clarified why they did not include the Seminoles.

Without Jordan Travis, without the offensive dynamic that he brings to it, FSU is a different team.
Carrigan said in an interview with ESPN

That did not fly well with the Florida natives, who were confident that they would get to see another local team since the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Gators in the playoffs. But the announcement left them disheartened and hungry for answers.

FS Video

Later, Florida’s Attorney General, Ashley Moody, who herself is a Gators fan, launched a lawsuit against the CFP’s ruling because it’s a matter of pride for the state. However, there’s a recent conspiracy theory that has come to light that ESPN might have played a part in choosing the Tide over FSU.

A Tampa Bay Times article by Matt Baker revealed that they consulted with an expert on the matter named Ray Katz. According to the article, Katz is the chief operating officer of the media rights and business firm Collegiate Sports Management Group, who teaches the subject at Columbia University.

TBT asked Katz’s opinion on whether Alabama is more of a casual crowd-puller than FSU. He replied,

I’m not going to say Florida State would not be. It’s an incredibly compelling story.

Ray Katz believes the Florida State Seminoles lost out to the brand, which is Nick Saban

Since the college football playoffs were reshuffled into a four-team system back in 2014, there has always been one SEC team competing for the National Championship. As a matter of fact, Alabama made it to six of them. So no representative from arguably the most competitive division in college football will tone down the hype of post-season football.

Sports business expert strongly suggests ESPN’s rating influence of Alabama’s controversial preference over FSU in College Playoff selection
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban objects to an officials call at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Image via IMAGO)

As per Sports Media Watch, the Tides games generated an average of 7.3 million viewers during the 11 games in 2023. In Florida State Semonloes’ case, they averaged around 4.2 million viewers.

Every week that Alabama is on any kind of reasonable TV platform, they kick butt. That’s just the reality. I think it’s a Nick Saban effect to some extent. He stirs up the pot. You either tune in to watch him win or you tune in to watch him lose.
Katz said

Whether that’s the reality or not, that’s up to the investigators to find out because Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, pledged a $1 million lawsuit against the CFP. As of now, there haven’t been any further statements from the committee. Alabama will face the Michigan Wolverines on January 2 in the Rose Bowl.

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