If how to watch the new college football landscape this fall wasn’t already confusing enough. There is now another network in the mix for some of the sport’s biggest games.
Throughout the season, the SEC and ACC will primarily play on ESPN and its partners, the Big Ten will play on Fox, NBC and CBS, and the Big 12 will play on ESPN and Fox. That covers it — until the College Football Playoff begins.
News broke Wednesday that ESPN has agreed with TNT Sports to sublicense College Football Playoff games in each season from 2024-2028.
Related: Big Ten football 2024 season win-loss record predictions for each team after spring practice
The announcement notes that TNT will broadcast two first-round games in 2024 and 2025. That inventory will increase to two first-round games and two quarterfinal games from 2026-2028. ESPN will choose two first-round games before giving the others to TNT.
The expanded 12-team College Football Playoff sees four total first-round games: No. 5 seed vs. No. 12 seed, No. 6 vs. No. 11, No. 7 vs. No. 10 and No. 8 vs. No. 9. The quarterfinal has four as well: No. 1 vs. No. 8/9, No. 2 vs. No. 7/10, No. 3 vs. No. 6/11 and No. 4 vs. No. 5/12. The inventory then narrows for the semifinal and final.
TNT Sports sublicensing College Football Playoff games from ESPN https://t.co/qVThCJfZCv
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 22, 2024
ESPN has owned the entire playoff since its inception in 2014. It selling part of the inventory to TNT — a reported partner in the new ESPN/TNT/Fox streaming bundle — is a big blow to NBC, CBS and Fox in the never-ending race to own college football.
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