Oklahoma and Georgia went into double overtime in an insane Rose Bowl, which saw the Bulldogs come out on top 54-48 to advance to the national title game.
But the high-scoring game going into two overtimes caused a problem for ESPN, in that the Alabama-Clemson Sugar Bowl had also started.
And we have both playoff games overlapping right now. Believe that’s a first?
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 2, 2018
ESPN warned viewers that the Sugar Bowl would be on ESPN2 until the conclusion of the Rose Bowl.
So fans looking to watch the Alabama-Clemson game changed the channel to ESPN2, but when the Rose Bowl ended, ESPN2 switched away from the Sugar Bowl without warning. This happened while Alabama had 3rd-and-goal in the Sugar Bowl, so many fans missed a key goal line play — and for some the ensuing fourth down, which resulted in an Alabama field goal — while they were scrambling to find the remote and switch the channel to ESPN.
On some average college football day, this may not be a huge deal, but this is the College Football Playoff Semifinal we’re talking about. Naturally, this switch without warning angered many viewers.
Thanks for the warning for the channel switch ESPN2
— Justin (@TigerJustin13) January 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/tee_tuhm/status/948017553950982144
https://twitter.com/13Tide13/status/948017477040136194
https://twitter.com/jharm07/status/948017581717196801
This was obviously a tough situation for ESPN and ESPN2, but at least warn the viewers about the switch or just wait until a commercial break.
[ESPN2]
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.