NBC to Televise Hall of Fame Bowl on Jan. 2, and Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1

The college football Hall of Fame Bowl game has been moved to Jan. 2 and will be televised by NBC, replacing coverage of the Fiesta Bowl that will be broadcast on New Year’s Day, bowl officials announced Monday.

The contract with NBC will mean an estimated $1 million in commercial air time sales for the Hall of Fame Bowl Assn., a source said.

The bowl game, originally scheduled for Dec. 30, will be played at the 74,310-seat Tampa Stadium. The stadium is home to the National Football League’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The date of the game was changed in order to receive network coverage, bowl committee officials said.

Financial details of the contract, which has not been finalized, will be kept “completely confidential,” said Bob Sutton, chairman of the bowl association.

A source said the two-year contract, with an option for a third year, will provide the bowl committee with 16 minutes of commercial air time to sell. The air time is worth more than $1 million, the source said.

The bowl committee sought a network contract after becoming disenchanted with Mizlou, an independent network that held the rights to Hall of Fame Bowl broadcasts, said Don Mains, a spokesman for the bowl association. Mains said Mizlou could not promise a broadcast that would reach more than 60% of the country nor pay the same compensation as last year.

He said the association had to make concessions to get out of the Mizlou contract but declined to elaborate.

Last year’s game was held Dec. 23 in Birmingham, Ala. In January the bowl committee moved this year’s game to Dec. 30 to avoid travel problems for out-of-town fans trying to return home for Christmas.