TNT Sports broadcasts select CFP games through sublicense with ESPN

ESPN and TNT Sports have reached a five-year agreement for TNT Sports to sublicense select College Football Playoff games from ESPN starting this season, the two networks announced Wednesday.

TNT Sports will present two CFP first-round games during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. In addition to the first-round games, TNT Sports will add two quarterfinal games each year, beginning in the 2026 season and continuing through the 2028 season. TNT will be the primary network broadcasting CFP-licensed games Al-Batin, among additional TNT Sports distribution platforms.

ESPN will show all other CFP games on its networks, including the national championship game. ESPN will also continue to manage the sponsorship program for the CFP show.

“We are thrilled to reach this agreement with ESPN, providing TNT Sports the opportunity to showcase College Football Playoff games on our platforms for years to come,” Louis Silberwasser, chairman and CEO of TNT Sports, said in a statement. “TNT Sports aims to delight fans and maximize access and engagement with these iconic games.”

The CFP will expand from four to 12 teams this fall and will include the five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams. The four highest-ranked conference champions will receive a top-four seed and a first-round bye.

First-round games will be played Dec. 20-21 on the campus of the higher seed, with teams seeded 5-8 hosting teams seeded 9-12.

“ESPN is pleased to sub-license TNT Sports for a select number of College Football Playoff first-round games, an event we have helped develop – along with the CFP – into one of the marquee tournaments,” said ESPN’s Rosalynn Durant. Executive Vice President of Programming and Acquisitions. “We are confident in the reach and promotion this new agreement will provide as we enter the new and expanded playoff era.”

This year, the CFP Quarterfinals will be hosted by the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 31), the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Jan. 1), the Rose Bowl Game (Jan. 1) and the Allstate Sugar Bowl (Jan.). 1). The Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowls will host the CFP Championship semifinals, with the national title game taking place Jan. 20 in Atlanta, Georgia.

“It is exciting to add TNT Sports, another well-respected broadcast station, to the College Football Playoff family,” CFP Executive Director Bill Hancock said in a statement. “Sports fans across the country are very familiar with their work across a wide range of sports properties over the past two decades, and we look forward to seeing the new and innovative ideas they bring to promote and deliver these games.”