ESPN’s Exclusive Coverage of the College Football Playoff Semifinals; MultiCast for Washington-Alabama and Ohio State-Clemson

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ESPN’s Exclusive Coverage of the College Football Playoff Semifinals; MultiCast for Washington-Alabama and Ohio State-Clemson

  • ESPN has Main Telecast; Alternate Presentations on ESPN2 and ESPN3 for Both Semifinals and SEC Network for Huskies-Crimson Tide
  • ESPN and ESPN Deportes Televise All New Year’s Six Games; ESPN Radio Broadcasts

The College Football Playoff Semifinals — No. 4 Washington vs. No. 1 Alabama in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (3 p.m. ET) and No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Clemson in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (7 p.m.) — will be televised on ESPN on December 31, with five additional presentations on ESPN’s networks as part of a MultiCast (see below) for both semifinals. The alternate productions will be available on ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPN Deportes, with SEC Network airing Finebaum Filmroom during the Huskies-Crimson Tide game as a sixth option. ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes Radio will also broadcast the games. MultiCast presentations are available to stream on the ESPN app.

The College Football Playoff Semifinals highlight ESPN’s exclusive presentation of the entire New Year’s Six — the Capital One Orange Bowl on December 30 and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, The Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual and the Allstate Sugar Bowl all on January 2. All New Year’s Six games are on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN Radio. ESPN’s entire bowl schedule can be found here.

ESPN’s Presentation of the College Football Playoff Semifinals on December 31
ESPN will have more than 60 cameras, including 4K cameras, inside both the Georgia Dome for the Peach Bowl and University of Phoenix Stadium for the Fiesta Bowl. Additional technology highlights:

  • Pylon Cameras: All eight pylons will be equipped with four cameras, allowing for camera angles along the goal line, sideline and backline.
  • Super-Slow Motion: Super slow-motion cameras will provide precise, tight camera shots throughout the game and capture the emotion of the matchups.

Joe Tessitore, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe call the Peach Bowl while Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Samantha Ponder and Tom Rinaldi broadcast the Fiesta Bowl. Tessitore and Ponder make their semifinal debuts, while Blackledge, Rowe, Fowler and Herbstreit have worked a semifinal in the previous two years of the College Football Playoff. For the Fiesta Bowl, Ponder reports on the Tigers and Rinaldi on the Buckeyes.

College Football Playoff Semifinals MultiCast

  • Command Center Telecast (ESPN2): A split-screen with multiple camera views simultaneously, which could include the main ESPN camera angle, the SkyCam view and isolated camera feeds of both head coaches at any given time. Enhanced statistics and real time drive charts supplement the game action.
  • Finebaum Film Room (SEC Network): Paul Finebaum along with analysts Booger McFarland, Jordan Rodgers and Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze take calls from fans during the Washington-Alabama game and provide instant analysis. Complete details on SEC Network’s Peach Bowl coverage can be found here.
  • Hometown Audio (ESPN3): The local radio broadcasts from all four participating teams, in conjunction with IMG and Learfield Sports, synched up to ESPN’s main telecast.
  • DataCenter (ESPN3): ESPN’s main TV production is supplemented by statistics, tweets and additional relevant information for an enhanced real-time experience on one screen.
  • SkyCam (ESPN3): Permanent view from above the action and behind the offense on most plays.
  • ESPN Deportes: Kenneth Garay, Alex Pombo and Sebastian Martinez-Christensen (Peach Bowl) and Lalo Varela, Pablo Viruega (Fiesta Bowl) on the Spanish-language calls of the game.
  • ESPN Radio: Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Todd McShay (Peach Bowl) and Bill Rosinski, David Norrie and Ian Fitzsimmons (Fiesta Bowl) call the games. The broadcast is available throughout the country to more than 400 ESPN Radio stations, ESPNRadio.com, SirusXMRadio, the ESPN app, Apple Music, TuneIn and Slacker Radio.
  • ESPN Deportes Radio: Eduardo Varela and Pablo Viruela (Peach Bowl) and Kenneth Garay and Sebastian Martinez Christensen (Fiesta Bowl) call the matchups.

ESPN will offer onsite coverage from both Atlanta and Glendale, Ariz., beginning Wednesday, Dec. 28, including coverage of media day on Thursday, Dec. 29. Complete details are here.


ESPN’s Presentation of the New Year’s Six

Capital One Orange Bowl on December 30 at 8 p.m.
The Capital One Orange Bowl begins the New Year’s Six as No. 6 Florida State plays No.11 Michigan from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. Steve Levy, Brian Griese, and Todd McShay call the game for ESPN. Griese’s father, Bob, was a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback with the Miami Dolphins and will likely join the telecast during the game as Brian returns to his hometown.  McShay, one of ESPN’s NFL Draft experts, provides insight on NFL prospects during the game, including Michigan’s Jabrill Peppers (LB) and Jake Butt (TE) and Florida State’s Dalvin Cook (RB). On ESPN Deportes, Lalo Varela, Pablo Viruega call the game with Dave Flemming, Tom Ramsey and Allison Williams on ESPN Radio.

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on January 2 at 1 p.m.
The Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic between No. 15 Western Michigan and No. 8 Wisconsin from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas,  begins a triple-header of premier bowl action. Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard and Allison Williams call the game on ESPN, with Jerry Olaya and Roberto Abramowitz on ESPN Deportes and Brad Sham, Rod Gilmore and Quint Kessenich on ESPN Radio.

The Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual on January 2 at 5 p.m.
The Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual featuring No. 9 USC and No. 5 Penn State from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., at 5 p.m. will be broadcast by Fowler and Herbstreit along with Ponder reporting on the Trojans and Rinaldi on the Nittany Lions. The telecast looks back at great moments in Rose Bowl history, including the 75th anniversary of the 1942 game which was moved to Duke University after the attacks on Pearl Harbor. On ESPN Deportes, Kenny Garay and Alex Pombo will call the game with Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy and Molly McGrath on ESPN Radio.  The Rose Bowl will also be the site of Championship Drive (10 a.m. – 12:50 p.m.) on January 2.

Allstate Sugar Bowl on January 2 at 8:30 p.m.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl between No. 14 Auburn and No. 7 Oklahoma from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans at 8:30 p.m. will conclude the day. Brent Musburger, Jesse Palmer and Kaylee Hartung will call the game on ESPN between the SEC’s second-highest ranked team and the Big 12 Champions. Lalo Varela and Pablo Viruega are on ESPN Deportes’ telecast with Bill Rosinski, David Norrie and Ian Fitzsimmons on ESPN Radio’s broadcast.

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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; [email protected] and @DerekVolner

Derek Volner

I currently lead ESPN’s NFL Communications, including Monday Night Football, NFL Draft and studio programming. Previously, I did the same for ESPN’s vast college football portfolio. I have been with ESPN since 2013.
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