With NCAA college football moving to a new, greatly expanded playoff format for the National Championship this year, ESPN and TNT Sports have reached a five-year agreement for TNT Sports to sublicense select College Football Playoff (CFP) games from ESPN, beginning with the upcoming college football season.
This year will mark the expansion of the College Football Playoff from four teams to 12. The four highest-ranking conference champions will be seeded 1-4 and receive first-round byes. The CFP first round will consist of four games played at home campus venues, with teams seeded 5-8 hosting teams seeded 9-12.
TNT Sports will present two first-round College Football Playoff games during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. In addition to the first-round games, TNT Sports will add two quarterfinal games each year –beginning with the 2026 season through the 2028 season. TNT will be the primary network televising the sublicensed CFP games, among additional TNT Sports distribution platforms.
ESPN will present all other College Football Playoff games on its networks including the annual CFP National Championship Game. ESPN will also continue to manage the sponsorship program for the presentation of the CFP.
“We’re delighted to reach this agreement with ESPN, providing TNT Sports the opportunity to showcase these College Football Playoff games on our platforms for years to come,” said Luis Silberwasser, chairman and CEO, TNT Sports. “TNT Sports aims to delight fans and drive maximum reach and engagement for these marquee games.”
"ESPN is pleased to sublicense to TNT Sports a select number of early round games of the College Football Playoff, an event we’ve helped to grow – alongside the CFP – into one of the preeminent championships,” said Rosalyn Durant, ESPN executive vice president, programming & acquisitions. “We’re confident in the reach and promotion that this new agreement will provide as we enter the new, expanded playoff era.”
“It is exciting to add TNT Sports, another highly respected broadcaster, to the College Football Playoff family,” said Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff. “Sports fans across the country are intimately familiar with their work across a wide variety of sports properties over the past two decades, and we look forward to seeing what new and innovative ideas they bring to the promotion and delivery of these games.”
