Kickoff '24: TNT Sports To Air CFB Playoff Games Via Five-Year Deal With ESPN
Wednesday, May 22, 2024 at 03:00PM By Barry Janoff
May 22, 2024: In the ever-burgeoning landscape of college football, ESPN has signed a five-year agreement enabling Warner Bros. Discovery TNT Sports to sublicense select College Football Playoff games from ESPN, beginning with the upcoming college football season.
Under the deal, TNT Sports will present two first-round College Football Playoff games during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
TNT Sports will then add two quarterfinal games each year, beginning with the 2026 season through the 2028 season.
ESPN said TNT would be the primary network televising the sublicensed CFP games, among additional TNT Sports distribution platforms.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
ESPN said it would 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.
In March, ESPN and the College Football Playoff signed two six-year media agreements, valued at $7.8 billion, that “ensures ESPN will continue as the exclusive, worldwide rights-holder to college football’s premier postseason event through the 2031-32 season.”
In both the am
ended two-year agreement and new six-year extension, the CFP provides ESPN with the right to sublicense a select number of 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,” Rosalyn Durant, ESPN evp-programming and acquisitions, said via the network.
“We’re confident in the reach and promotion that this new agreement will provide as we enter the new, expanded playoff era.”
ESPN and TNT Sports, along with Fox Sports, are partners in Venu Sports, the sports streaming platform scheduled to launch this Fall that will unite media-rights holdings of all three, including portions of the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, Nascar and men’s and women’s FIFA World Cups.
“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,” Luis Silberwasser, chairman and CEO, TNT Sports, said via the network. “TNT Sports aims to delight fans and drive maximum reach and engagement for these marquee games.”
This year will see the expansion of the College Football Playoff from four teams to 12.
“It is exciting to add TNT Sports, another highly respected broadcaster, to the College Football Playoff family,” Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff, said via the organization.
“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.”
Additional details regarding programming plans for the College Football Playoff will be shared at a later date.
Key dates for the 2024-25 CFP schedule:
• CFP First Round, Dec. 20-21
• CFP Quarterfinals:
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Dec. 31
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Jan.1
Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential, Jan. 1
Allstate Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1
• CFP Semifinals:
Capital One Orange Bowl, Jan. 9
Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Jan. 10
CFP National Championship Game, Jan. 20 (Atlanta, Ga.)
ESPN $7.8B Deal Extends Exclusive CFB Playoff Coverage Thru 2031-32
ESPN, NCAA Sign $920M Extension: Record 40 Men’s, Women’s Championships
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