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Afternoon Edition

January 6, 2026

From the College Football Playoff to lower-tier bowl games, numbers show that college football’s TV audience just keeps growing.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]] and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

From CFP to Non-Playoff Bowls, U.S. Audiences Want Even More CFB [[link removed]]

Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Whether it’s the College Football Playoff or lesser bowl games, one thing is again abundantly clear: U.S. audiences still can’t get enough of college football.

The CFP quarterfinals extended what has been a banner postseason for the sport, even amid rising competition for audiences from the NFL, NBA, and other major events. Among the latest viewership results:

The CFP quarterfinal round on ESPN averaged 19.3 million viewers, up 14% from last year. Through the two rounds of the tournament, the CFP is averaging 14.4 million viewers per game, up 3% from last year, the first season of the current, 12-team format. The quarterfinal viewership strongly reversed a 7% decline during the opening round [[link removed]]. Indiana’s quarterfinal victory over Alabama, continuing an undefeated season for the Hoosiers, averaged 23.9 million viewers. That figure is the largest for any game in the 12-team CFP era, even surpassing last year’s title game between Ohio State and Notre Dame [[link removed]], and it is larger than 18 of 22 previous CFP semifinals. Miami’s quarterfinal win over Ohio State averaged 19 million, while the Ole Miss upset of Georgia averaged 18.7 million—also NFL-type figures—while Oregon’s win over Texas averaged 15.9 million. The CFP totals also follow a set of bowl games outside of the tournament with audience increases. The non-CFP bowls on ESPN, through Dec. 27, were up 13% year over year to a collective average of 2.7 million. Leading the way was the Pop-Tarts Bowl between Georgia Tech and BYU. That game averaged 8.7 million viewers and was the most-watched non-CFP/New Year’s Six bowl game in six years. That total arrived despite the game’s high-profile snub from Notre Dame [[link removed]].

While Nielsen methodology enhancements such as an expansion of out-of-home tabulation [[link removed]] and the arrival of the Big Data + Panel measurement process [[link removed]] help explain some of the viewership boosts, the latest figures also bolster college football’s argument as the most popular sports entity in the U.S. behind the NFL.

Collectively, the postseason viewership figures amplify a college football regular season that saw a 2% viewership boost—even when retroactively applying the Big Data + Panel methodology to last season’s games.

The upcoming CFP semifinals—Miami and Ole Miss on Thursday, and Oregon and Indiana on Friday—will be free from NFL competition, similar to the quarterfinals, as that league’s wild-card round begins Saturday [[link removed]].

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS STUDIOS

Relive the Biggest Comeback in NFL History

Dubbed “The Comeback” by one city and “The Choke” by another, the Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills faced off in the biggest NFL postseason comeback game of all time [[link removed]].

It’s estimated the Bills had a 0.3% chance of winning while down 35–3, after the Oilers scored a pick-six in the third quarter. Buffalo would go on to score 35 unanswered points, forcing overtime and sealing a 41–38 win that still stands as the largest comeback in NFL history.

Relive this iconic moment as Don’t Call It a Comeback premieres tonight at 9 p.m. ET on Vice TV [[link removed]]. The series explores the most electrifying turnarounds in sports history, reliving the euphoria of pulling off the impossible—and the heartbreak of defeat—told by the athletes who lived it on both sides of the scoreboard.

Hosted by Noah Eagle and coproduced by Front Office Sports Studios [[link removed]] and Skydance Sports in association with NFL Films, it’s must-watch storytelling for sports fans.

Main Street Sports Crisis Pushes RSN Rights Closer to League Control [[link removed]]

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

An already-difficult situation ensnaring much of regional sports broadcasting is only growing thornier as Main Street Sports Group has missed another set of scheduled rights payments—raising further questions about its future viability.

Main Street Sports, the parent of the FanDuel Sports Network, missed the scheduled January rights payments for most, if not all, of the 13 NBA teams it shows, according to industry sources. That follows a similar lapse in a rights payment due last month to MLB’s Cardinals [[link removed]].

The company is still in the midst of attempting to complete a potential sale to DAZN. There are still numerous questions around that pending deal, though, including the London-based streamer’s own health as it posted a pretax loss of $935.6 million in 2024, and more than $1.4 billion the year before that.

RSNs Under Stress

That sets up a rather tough scenario, at least in the short term, for those 13 NBA teams, 9 MLB clubs, and 7 NHL teams that Main Street Sports shows. If the DAZN deal happens, that company is likely to pursue lower rights fees for teams, as well as additional digital rights, as a condition of continued regional broadcasting.

If that doesn’t happen, Main Street Sports is expected to cease operations at the end of the current NBA and NHL seasons. The local media rights for the involved teams would revert to those franchises and their respective leagues, and that path, too, almost certainly means a short-term revenue loss.

Main Street Sports, through a spokesperson, told Front Office Sports that it is “in dialogue with its team and league partners around the timing of rights payments as we progress discussions with strategic partners to further enhance our long-term capital position.”

Some type of further clarity is expected by the end of the month. The games of the involved NBA and NHL teams are continuing to be shown on FanDuel Sports Network outlets while negotiations continue.

Main Street Sports emerged a year ago [[link removed]] from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, as a variety of issues—including industry-wide cord-cutting and mounting debt—have particularly battered this part of the sports media business. The company posted a strong viewership increase during the 2025 MLB season [[link removed]], and it has begun to do so again in the current NBA and NHL seasons. It also retooled its production under former ESPN executive Norby Williamson [[link removed]], but the structural issues have only deepened. The aim is to provide greater long-term stability—though that might not be possible.

NASCAR Commissioner Quits After Ugly Lawsuit Settled [[link removed]]

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps is stepping down less than one month after the motorsports sanctioning body settled an antitrust fight [[link removed]] with Michael Jordan’s 23XI Racing team and Front Row Motorsports.

NASCAR’s official announcement says Phelps, 63, “made the personal decision to step away from the company,” which he will transition out of by the end of the month. No further leadership changes were announced, and NASCAR has no immediate plans to replace the commissioner role or to seek outside leadership. The administration of Phelps’s responsibilities will be delegated internally through NASCAR president Steve O’Donnell and the circuit’s executive leadership team.

Phelps, a former NFL executive, had worked for NASCAR since 2005, and last March was promoted from president to NASCAR’s first commissioner, with O’Donnell succeeding the president role.

As NASCAR commissioner, he was the public figurehead in the stock-car racing series’ legal fight against Jordan, 23XI, and Front Row. However, the recently completed trial revealed several inflammatory text messages Phelps sent, which hurt his image with fans and other NASCAR stakeholders.

Phelps in a 2023 text exchange with another NASCAR executive called six-time Cup Series champion Richard Childress, now the owner of Richard Childress Racing, a “stupid redneck” and “total ass-clown,” and said Childress “needs to be taken out back and flogged.”

As part of the settlement agreement with 23XI and Front Row, NASCAR agreed to establish “evergreen” team charters, instead of renewable ones. Historically, the 36 NASCAR charters have been similar to team franchises in stick-and-ball sports. The value of those charters has also grown, with a sale for one reaching $45 million last year.

Phelps led NASCAR’s latest media-rights negotiations, which led to seven-year, $7.7 billion deals with Fox Sports, NBC Sports, Amazon, TNT Sports, and The CW that began with the 2025 season [[link removed]].

STATUS REPORT Two Up, Two Push

Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Bill Belichick ⬆⬇ The embattled North Carolina football coach reiterated that he has no desire to return to the NFL. Speaking on the Let’s Go! podcast [[link removed]], Belichick reaffirmed that he is not leaving the Tar Heels. “Nothing’s changed,” he said. “I’m where I was a month ago. I’m here. … We’re building a good program, and I’m excited about the direction we’re headed in.” North Carolina finished with a 4–8 record in Belichick’s first season there. His latest comments arrive as there are currently six head-coaching openings in the NFL [[link removed]].

Nationals ⬆ The MLB club’s leadership overhaul [[link removed]] is continuing as it named Royals SVP/COO Jason Sinnarajah as its president of business operations. The move closely follows the Nationals’ appointment of Paul Toboni as president of baseball operations, Anirudh Kilambi as GM, and Blake Butera as manager. The Lerner family continues to own the Nationals, but the hiring of the new executives signals a heightened desire for change after six straight years out of the postseason.

LIV Golf ⬆⬇ As the league prepares for its fifth season, which begins Feb. 5–8 in Saudi Arabia, it has reportedly signed [[link removed]] Thomas Detry, ranked No. 57 in the world, and Elvis Smylie (No. 127). However, 46th-ranked Akshay Bhatia reportedly turned down [[link removed]] a lucrative offer to join LIV this offseason. Detry and Bhatia were PGA Tour members in 2025, while Smylie played on the DP World Tour.

Auburn ⬆ The Tigers have landed former South Florida quarterback Byrum Brown in the transfer portal, as college football’s QB carousel [[link removed]] continues spinning. Brown is following his former coach at USF, Alex Golesh, who was hired by Auburn after the season.

Editors’ Picks Laura Rutledge Opens Up on Justin Herbert and Viral Sugar Bowl Sprint [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]“I did not know that anybody was going to be filming that.” Bryce Underwood to Stay at Michigan for Sophomore Season [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Underwood led the Wolverines to 9–4 as a true freshman. Hockey in Florida Was Once a Risk. Now It’s Thriving [[link removed]]by Meredith Turits [[link removed]]The state of Florida has become a traditional—and highly lucrative—market. DAILY TRIVIA Factle Sports

Can you rank the NFL players by the most rushing yards in a single season?

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