College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock says ESPN has agreed to not use advertisements for daily fantasy sports websites during broadcasts of the biggest postseason games.
Hancock said College Football Playoff officials discussed the matter with ESPN executives and both sides determined that given uncertainties about daily fantasy sports sites such as DraftKings and FanDuel, it “would be best to allocate the available spots to others.”
The NCAA and FBS conferences asked DraftKings and FanDuel to stop offering college versions of their games because they consider them gambling. Same states, including New York, are investigating the whether the daily fantasy sites violate the law.
The NCAA has asked its TV partners to not run commercials for daily fantasy sites during its championship events and games, including the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, but college football’s postseason mostly operates outside the NCAA.
The FBS conferences, bowls and College Football Playoff negotiate their own TV contracts without the NCAA.
The College Football Playoff’s television agreements with ESPN cover two semifinal games played on Dec. 31, held this season at the Cotton Bowl in North Texas and the Orange Bowl in South Florida, the national championship game played in Glendale, Arizona, on Jan. 11, plus the Fiesta and Peach bowls. The Sugar and Rose bowls, which also take turns hosting the semifinals, have separate deals with ESPN.
