FBS Playoff Revenue for Conferences

[mthoopsfan]

“ During the 2021-22 season, the current four-team playoff format generated $74M apiece for the Power Five conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, and SEC), with $95M split among the Group of Five conferences (AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW, and SBC). Some projections estimate a twelve-team format could generate total revenue above $2B while increasing competition—only one Group of Five team, Cincinnati in 2021, has ever made the four-team playoff.”

 

[IdaGriz01]

“ During the 2021-22 season, the current four-team playoff format generated $74M apiece for the Power Five conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, and SEC), with $95M split among the Group of Five conferences (AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW, and SBC). Some projections estimate a twelve-team format could generate total revenue above $2B while increasing competition—only one Group of Five team, Cincinnati in 2021, has ever made the four-team playoff.”

This is why I always wondered why the Hell the idiots didn't expand sooner.

Even a rough "back-of-the-envelope" projection said they could make a LOT more money with more teams involved. And they had data to prove it, starting with the two "lesser" bowls ... Cotton and Peach. Attendance for the Cotton Bowl, just as a bowl involving two fan bases, has typically been 60-65 thousand. When it hosted semifinal games, it drew an average of almost 77 thousand. Attendance for an "ordinary" Peach Bowl ran about 65 thousand. When they hosted semifinal games, they averaged about 76 thousand. That's 20-25% more. The "prestige" bowls like the Sugar and Orange – which typically offer bigger-name team – don't go up quite that much, but they also do better when they host.

That's just the live attendance. The TV audience surely expanded even more, when the game appealed to more than just the two fan bases.

 

[Pounder]

“ During the 2021-22 season, the current four-team playoff format generated $74M apiece for the Power Five conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, and SEC), with $95M split among the Group of Five conferences (AAC, C-USA, MAC, MW, and SBC). Some projections estimate a twelve-team format could generate total revenue above $2B while increasing competition—only one Group of Five team, Cincinnati in 2021, has ever made the four-team playoff.”

This is why I always wondered why the Hell the idiots didn't expand sooner.

Even a rough "back-of-the-envelope" projection said they could make a LOT more money with more teams involved. And they had data to prove it, starting with the two "lesser" bowls ... Cotton and Peach. Attendance for the Cotton Bowl, just as a bowl involving two fan bases, has typically been 60-65 thousand. When it hosted semifinal games, it drew an average of almost 77 thousand. Attendance for an "ordinary" Peach Bowl ran about 65 thousand. When they hosted semifinal games, they averaged about 76 thousand. That's 20-25% more. The "prestige" bowls like the Sugar and Orange – which typically offer bigger-name team – don't go up quite that much, but they also do better when they host.

That's just the live attendance. The TV audience surely expanded even more, when the game appealed to more than just the two fan bases.

One reason it’ll be 12 and not 16 is because any network buying in doesn’t want more than maybe one quarter of a blowout in one game of a tournament. The NFL has way more neutral appeal than CFB.

 

[SaskGriz]

This is why I always wondered why the Hell the idiots didn't expand sooner.

Even a rough "back-of-the-envelope" projection said they could make a LOT more money with more teams involved. And they had data to prove it, starting with the two "lesser" bowls ... Cotton and Peach. Attendance for the Cotton Bowl, just as a bowl involving two fan bases, has typically been 60-65 thousand. When it hosted semifinal games, it drew an average of almost 77 thousand. Attendance for an "ordinary" Peach Bowl ran about 65 thousand. When they hosted semifinal games, they averaged about 76 thousand. That's 20-25% more. The "prestige" bowls like the Sugar and Orange – which typically offer bigger-name team – don't go up quite that much, but they also do better when they host.

That's just the live attendance. The TV audience surely expanded even more, when the game appealed to more than just the two fan bases.

One reason it’ll be 12 and not 16 is because any network buying in doesn’t want more than maybe one quarter of a blowout in one game of a tournament. The NFL has way more neutral appeal than CFB.

I feel like eight would have been a really easy number to expand to. Most years it would be 3 SEC, 2 Big 10, Clemson, and then one each from the PAC 12/11/10/9/8/7? and the "BIG" 12 so that they can feel like their conferences still matter. I suppose expanding it to 12 can let the occasional Cincinnati, Miami, or FSU into the mix. And BYU if they want cheap shot laying 27 year old Freshman and Notre Dame so people who live in Butte actually have something to feel hopeful about.