College football set its New Year’s Day playoff lineup this weekend as more post season bowl games were cancelled due to concerns revolving around the pandemic.

Top-ranked Alabama will face fourth-ranked Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl and second-ranked Clemson will battle third-ranked Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. The winners will play in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 11. ESPN will air all three games.

The weekend playoffs announcement comes as several other college bowl games were cancelled, as a number of teams from major conferences have chosen not to play in the postseason due to concerns surrounding the pandemic.

ESPN Events Sunday cancelled the upcoming TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl, one of 16 post season college football bowl games now canceled. Currently, 28 bowl games are scheduled to be played beginning tonight (Dec. 21) with the Myrtle Beach Bowl featuring North Texas against Appalachian State.

“We have made the difficult decision to cancel the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl,” said Mark Meadows, executive director in a statement. “As the inventory of available teams lessened, our ability to stage the game was compromised. We will direct our focus to next year’s bowl, and look forward to staging the game in the 2021 season.”

The TV sports lineup for the first weekend of December will feature some of the top ranked college football and basketball teams as well as a major pay-per-view boxing event. 

College football will enter the final leg of its regular season with several key matchups, including a primetime matchup between top-ranked Alabama and LSU (CBS) and afternoon games featuring fifth-ranked Texas A&M at Auburn (ESPN), fourth-ranked Ohio State (pictured) at Michigan State (ABC), and third-ranked Clemson at Virginia Tech (ABC).

Boxing will once again take center stage in the pay-per-view combat sports ring with Fox Sports’ Errol Spence-Danny Garcia welterweight championship fight. The fight, which will retail at $74.95, will pit two of the top welterweight fighters in the sport.

The NFL will look to complete its week 13 Sunday schedule without any major COVID-19-related postponements outside of moving its Baltimore Ravens-Dallas Cowboys Dec. 3 Thursday Night Football game to Tuesday (Dec. 8) and Sunday's Washington Team-Pittsburgh Steelers games to Monday (Dec. 7.)  NBC’s primetime Sunday Night Football game features an AFC West matchup between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs.

College basketball will feature an early matchup of top-ranked teams as number one Gonzaga plays second-ranked Baylor Saturday afternoon (CBS), while 12th-ranked Villanova travels to play 17th-ranked Texas (ESPN). 

NBC and NBCSN will continue its coverage of Premier League soccer games on Saturday and Sunday, while ESPN on Sunday will televise the Sakhir Grand Prix Formula One auto racing event.

Cable One said it has entered into an agreement with Hargray Communications where it will contribute cable systems in Alabama to the Hilton Head, S.C.-based cable operator in exchange for an equity stake in the company.

Hargray has cable, telephone and broadband subscribers in South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. As part of the deal, Cable One will contribute its cable system serving Anniston, Alabama and surrounding areas, in exchange for a minority equity stake in Hargray. The deal is expected to close this fall. 

Hargray already serves residents in nearby Pell City, Ala., and said in a press release the Cable One deal will expand its presence in the state and add residential and commercial customers to its growing business throughout the southeast. 

"At a time when reliable, high-speed Internet access has never been more essential to enable people and communities to connect and thrive, we are pleased to add the Alabama assets of Cable One to our growing portfolio," Hargray chairman and CEO Michael Gottdenker said in the press release. "We look forward to building upon Cable One's network investments to deliver premium communications products and solutions to homes and businesses in Anniston, Jacksonville, Oxford, and the surrounding communities."

Hargray is owned by the Pritzker Organization, the merchant bank for the Tom Pritzker family. Tom Pritzker is also executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corp. Other investors in Hargray include Stephens Capital Partners, Redwood Capital Investments, WaveDivision Capital, and management.

"We believe Hargray, whose values mirror our own, will be an excellent fit for the Anniston community. Hargray will be able to use its regional scale to further invest in the Anniston market while continuing to provide Anniston customers with the latest technological advancements and the highest level of customer care," Cable One CEO Julie Laulis said in a press release. "Additionally, and as a result of this transaction, Cable One will have the opportunity to share in Hargray's growth while increasing our opportunities for continued investment."

Hargray Communications said it has completed its purchase of certain assets of USA Communications in Pell City, Alabama and surrounding areas. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Hargray first announced the deal in January. 

Hargray said it will dedicate additional financial resources to grow USA Communications' network over the coming months, providing next generation products like Wall-to-Wall WiFi, digital TV with expanded viewing options and phone. Commercial customers will enjoy enhanced data, voice, and video services including Hosted Unified Communications, Metro-Ethernet, Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Internet, and customized video services.

"Hargray's approach is to fully engage in the communities it serves, and we look forward to the opportunity to join, serve, and engage local residents and businesses of this beautiful region,” said Hargray vice president of sales and operations Gwynne Lastinger in a press release. “We will deliver the same high-quality suite of residential and commercial services that we are known for in South Carolina and Georgia with personalized, local customer care."

Michael McHugh at B. Riley FBR, Inc. was financial advisor to USA Communications for this transaction.

ESPN dramatic Georgia-Oklahoma Rose Bowl telecast led what were huge social media numbers for college football bowl games on New Year’s Day. 

Georgia’s double overtime win over Oklahoma to secure a spot in the College Playoff championship game generated 8.5 million Facebook and Twitter interactions to top all TV shows airing on Jan. 1, according to Nielsen’s Social Content Ratings Daily report.

ESPN’s Alabama-Clemson Sugar Bowl telecast drew 5.2 million social media interactions. Alabama defeated last year’s champion Clemson to advance to the College Playoff Championship game for the third straight year.

ESPN’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (3.1 million social media interactions), ESPN2’s Outback Bowl (1.6 million) and ABC’s Citrus Bowl (1.1 million) rounded out the top five. 

On the entertainment front, USA’s WWE Monday Night Raw was the most social show for the day, drawing 545,000 Facebook and Twitter interactions, according to Nielsen.

Blockbuster ratings for ESPN’s coverage of the Alabama-Clemson College Football Playoffs championship game helped the network score an easy primetime weekly cable ratings win.

The sports network averaged 4 million viewers for the week of Jan. 9 to Jan. 15, easily outdistancing second place Fox News’ 2.5 million tally, according to Nielsen. ESPN drew 24.4 million viewers for Jan. 9 telecast of the Clemson Tigers’ last minute victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide to pace its weekly victory.  

HGTV finished third for the week with 1.6 million viewers, followed by USA’a 1.5 million watchers.

Tying for fourth place with 1.3 million viewers for the week were TBS, Discovery Channel, CNN and MSNBC, while FX (1.2 million viewers) and Investigation Discovery and History (tied with 1.1 million) rounded out the top 10.

Fox News topped ESPN on a 24-hour basis, followed in order by Nickelodeon, HGTV, Disney Channel and Adult Swim.

ESPN was the top choice among adults 18-49 in primetime and on a 24-hour basis, according to Nielsen.

The Most Watched Cable Shows For The Week of Jan. 9 to Jan. 15

DateShowNetwork                              Total Viewers

1/9         CFP Championship (Clemson-Alabama)            ESPN                                     24.4 million

1/9         CFP pre-game show                                         ESPN                                    14.4 million

1/9         CFP post-game show                                       ESPN                                      9.4 million

1/9         CFP Studio Show                                             ESPN                                      5.3 million

1/11       The O’Reilly Factor                                           Fox News                                 4.3 million

1/12       The O’Reilly Factor                                           Fox News                                 4.1 million

1/10       Anderson Cooper 360                                        CNN                                         3.7 million

1/10       Fixer Upper                                                       HGTV                                       3.7 million

1/13       Gold Rush                                                        Discovery Channel                      3.6 million

1/10       Anderson Cooper 360                                         CNN                                         3.6 million

Source: Nielsen

ESPN on Monday (Jan. 9) will air live the College Football Playoff National Championship game between the Clemson Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide (pictured) amid questions regarding the continued value of live sports programming on linear TV.

UPDATE, Jan. 10, 2017: ESPN Scores 24.3 Million Viewers for Clemson-Alabama Game

The ratings gravy train that sports networks and the TV industry in general have enjoyed over the years may soon come to an end, MoffettNathanson senior research analyst Michael Nathanson warned in a recent report. Given the ratings falloff for 2016 regular season National Football League games, as well as silver-medal level ratings for the Summer Olympics — and the potential of digital companies such as Facebook and Twitter vying for sports properties and driving up rights fees — TV sports is heading into its future with two strikes already against it, Nathanson argued.

Related: Units of NBC Sports Digital, Turner Expand OTT Sports Deal

In addition, a recent Thuuz Sports survey reported that 84.3% of pay TV subs with DVRs used them to record sports. The results cut into the cable-industry narrative that live sports programming is “DVR-proof,” so the sports-heavy traditional cable bundle is invaluable to fans.

The fact is, some “skinny bundle” offerings are drawing subscribers without a robust lineup of national and regional sports networks, including ESPN.

Live TV sports undoubtedly faces some challenges, but it’s still very much game on for the category, at least in terms of its huge appeal and value to viewers and distributors. When the ratings come out for ESPN’s Clemson-Alabama telecast, it will most likely secure the top spot as the most watched show on cable for the year, beating out Nielsen live-plus-7 ratings for the more than 400 scripted series that will air on cable in 2017. Last year’s CFP National Championship game garnered a cable-best 25 million viewers, and expectations are that this year’s rematch will match or surpass that number.

ESPN’s combined 36.6 million viewers for its two CFP semifinal telecasts on New Year’s Eve topped the disappointing 34.1 million viewers the network generated a year prior for the games.

The year is just getting started, but with live telecasts of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, National Basketball Association games, National Basketball Association and National Hockey League playoff contests, soccer, Ultimate Fighting Championship and boxing events and yes — Monday and Thursday night National Football League games — on tap for 2017, it’s not too early to predict that live sports programming will continue to score big audiences and drive valuable appeal for distributor packages offering such programming.

ESPN scored an impressive primetime ratings win for the final week of 2016, blowing out the field with its coverage of college football playoff games.

ESPN averaged a whopping 8.6 million viewers during the week of Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, easily defeating second place Fox News’ average 1.8 million viewers for the week, according to Nielsen.

ESPN was paced by its coverage of the college football playoffs semi-final games, as well as its Dec. 26 Monday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions. Overall, ESPN programs represented all top 10 most watched shows for the week, led by the Dec. 31 Washington Huskies/Alabama Crimson Tide game and the Ohio State Buckeyes/Clemson Tigers college football playoff games, which both drew 18.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

The games compared favorably to last year’s college football semi-final games on ESPN, which generated a combined 34.1 million viewers.

Hallmark completed its two month run of original holiday films by finishing third for the week with 1.7 million viewers, followed by USA’s 1.5 million watchers and HGTV’s 1.4 million viewers. Discovery Channel (1.3 million viewers), History (1.2 million), FX (1.1 million) and Investigation Discovery, Disney Channel and Freeform (all tied with 1.1 million) rounded out the top 10 most watched shows for the week.

On the heels of its second-straight yearly win in the primetime ratings, ESPN will look to score another cable ratings record with its Jan. 11 telecast of the College Football Playoff Championship Game between Clemson and Alabama. Last year, a cable-record 33.6 million viewers watched Ohio State defeat Oregon in the inaugural title game.

ESPN senior vice president of global research and analytics Artie Bulgrin recently spoke with Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead about the 24-hour sports network’s ratings success in 2015, and how well it expects to score with the championship game. In a wide-ranging interview, he also handicapped the the network’s odds for a threepeat in the yearly primetime ratings.

UPDATE:Alabama-Clemson Game Fails to Score Ratings Record

MCN:Were you surprised by ESPN’s second-straight strong primetime ratings performance in 2015?

Artie Bulgrin: This is actually extraordinary, because last year was the first year we won primetime across the board, and now we’ve done it again this year. I think the reason for this is primarily because sports and live programming is what we are virtually all day long, and that’s proving to be a significant advantage in a world where virtually everything else can be time-shifted.

We are in a TV world that’s going through a period of tremendous fragmentation. There’s more choice than ever before, particularly in primetime. Our events are performing extremely well and holding up year after year; there’s virtually no erosion to our events. What’s happening here is that among sports fans — young and old, male and female — sports programming moves up in the hierarchy of live television viewing when they are making their television choices.

MCN:Going into 2016, are you confident you can keep the streak going?

AB: I think we can, because we have the rights to the biggest live sports events and our news and information is still a huge draw for us and will continue to be so. At the same time, we know sports fans are using ESPN in different ways across numerous platforms.

Our cross-platform connection to our fans each and every day, all day long, enables us to stay connected to our viewers on any platform and eventually navigate them to our Monday Night Football, college-football or college-basketball telecasts any night of the week. We are the quintessential cross-platform media company, and our reach across platforms allows us to stay in contact with our fans across the day, which is a really big deal.

MCN:Does ESPN’s primetime win vindicate the network after many pundits questioned its ability to remain the sports leader after suffering sizeable subscriber losses?

AB: I don’t know if it’s vindication or not, but we have plenty of viewers out there. Sports fans are still connected to multichannel services, and I think this is proof of it — it’s proof of the appeal of sports in a multichannel space.

MCN:Last year’s ESPN college-football championship telecast set an all-time cable viewing record. Do you foresee a repeat performance from this year’s telecast?

AB: I think we will. In many ways, we’re in a better position for that final championship game than we were last year, because viewers were still going through an educational process moving from the [Bowl Championship Series] to the [College Football Playoff] process. I think we’ve done an extraordinary job promoting this, heading into these last final weeks, and we know for a fact that knowledge about the College Football Playoff and also intent to view is very strong, for the simple reason that the fans understand what it’s all about, they understand the system and there’s a lot at stake. We’re looking forward to seeing the ratings after [tonight’s] final championship game. I think we will do very well and we’ll get off to a very, very fast start.

MCN:Should viewers look for anything different on-air from ESPN in 2016?

AB: I think we have a winning formula now, but we’ll have international soccer, Euro 2016, so that will help us out a bit. But beyond that, it’s a steady slate that will continue to pace us during the year.

SIDEBAR: Disney, Nick Win ’15 in Total Day

Disney Channel and Nickelodeon finished in a dead tie in 2015 for the top spot among cable networks on a 24-hour basis. Disney also matched Nick among kids 2-11 and was the top choice among kids 6-11 and tweens 9-14, according to Nielsen.

Most Watched Cable Networks Among Total Viewers, 2015 (Total Day)

Network                            Total Viewers
Disney Channel. . . . . . . . . . . .1.23 million
Nickelodeon . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.23 million
Adult Swim. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.12 million
Fox News Channel . . . . . . . . .1.08 million
Cartoon Network . . . . . . . . . .1.00 million
USA Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . .974,000
ESPN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 906,000
TNT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 905,000
HGTV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 830,000
Nick at Nite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .776,000

SOURCE: Nielsen