ESPN is doubling down on college football. The network has secured exclusive media rights to all 23 games of the expanded 24-team College Football Playoff, keeping the postseason on its platforms through the 2031-32 season.
ESPN and the College Football Playoff announced the new agreement Monday, November 9, following the CFP’s decision to expand from 12 to 24 teams beginning with the 2027-28 season. The agreement gives ESPN rights to eight First Round games, eight Second Round games, four Quarterfinals, two Semifinals and the National Championship. That’s up from the 11 games in the current 12-team format, adding 12 more games to ESPN’s postseason lineup.
ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said the network remains “firmly committed to elevating it in its new, expanded 24-team format.”
The agreement also keeps ESPN in control of the CFP’s related programming, including the Selection Show and weekly CFP Top 25 Rankings Shows.
More College Football Playoff Games Will Air on ABC
Viewers who prefer watching games over the air rather than paying for another streaming subscription are in for a treat. Beginning with the expanded playoff in 2027-28, ESPN will broadcast at least three games from each of the First and Second Rounds on ABC. That means at least six games from the expanded early rounds will be available on broadcast television.
The remaining games will air across ESPN’s networks and platforms, with the company retaining the right to sublicense select matchups to other broadcasters. ESPN already has a sublicensing agreement with TNT Sports, which brings select CFP games to TNT and Max. The expanded playoff could create more opportunities for additional networks to pick up games.
The CW has also expressed interest in carrying more College Football Playoff games as the tournament grows. As Cord Cutters News recently reported, the network is looking for more sports programming and sees the expanded playoff as a potential opportunity.
ESPN has not announced how the additional games will be distributed across its networks or whether any new broadcast partners will join the arrangement. The network says more programming and distribution details will come later.
What the 24-Team Playoff Will Look Like
The expanded tournament will give more schools a chance to compete for a national championship.
The 24-team field will include:
- Four conference champions from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC.
- The highest-ranked champion from the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12 or Sun Belt.
- The 19 highest-ranked remaining teams selected by the CFP Selection Committee.
The eight highest seeds will receive first-round byes. Seeds 9 through 16 will host first-round games against seeds 17 through 24, while the winners advance to face the top eight teams on their home campuses. That means 16 of the 23 playoff games will take place on college campuses, up from just four under the current 12-team format. The quarterfinals and semifinals will continue rotating among the six major bowl locations.
The change has been building for months. Cord Cutters News previously reported on the growing support for a 24-team playoff, including discussions among conference leaders about how to structure the expanded field.
College football fans can mark their calendar, as the expanded playoff doesn’t begin immediately. The 2026-27 season will remain a 12-team tournament, with First Round games scheduled for December 18-19, 2026. The first 24-team playoff will arrive the following season.
With another round of games and more teams in the field, college football fans will have plenty more postseason action to watch. Exactly where every game lands across ESPN, ABC and potential sublicense partners is still to be determined.
