Key Points
- ESPN has secured exclusive worldwide media rights to the expanded 24-team College Football Playoff, beginning with the 2027-28 season.
- The new format will feature 23 games, up from 11 under the current 12-team playoff system; ABC will carry at least three games from each of the first two rounds, with additional games available across ESPN and other Disney platforms.
- The 2025-26 College Football Playoff averaged 16.3 million viewers, with 30.1 million watching the championship game between Indiana and Miami.
The Walt Disney Company’s ESPN has secured the exclusive worldwide television and streaming rights to the expanded 24-team College Football Playoff (CFP), adding 12 games to its existing agreement, starting next season.
The new deal runs through the 2031-2032 season and covers 23 games, including eight first-round games, eight second-round games, four quarterfinals, two semifinals and the national championship, according to a press release by the network on Monday. ESPN currently holds the rights to all 11 games under the 12-team playoff format, which will remain in place for the 2026-2027 season.
Under the expanded agreement, ABC will carry at least three games during each of the first two rounds. ESPN will also retain the ability to distribute games across other Walt Disney Company television networks and streaming platforms through simulcasts and its MegaCast presentations.
The agreement allows ESPN to sublicense certain games to other broadcasters, continuing an arrangement that already includes TNT Sports. ESPN has not disclosed how many games might be sublicensed under the expanded format.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
ESPN has carried the College Football Playoff since the championship system launched in 2015. The network signed a six-year extension in 2024 covering the 2026-2027 through 2031-2032 seasons.
The latest agreement adds the games created by the expanded tournament while preserving ESPN’s exclusive rights to the CFP Selection Show, weekly rankings programs and other related coverage. Disney Advertising will remain the exclusive seller of the College Football Playoff’s Official Sponsor Program, gaining additional commercial inventory from the expanded schedule.
The agreement comes after the College Football Playoff posted strong television ratings during its second season under the 12-team format: ESPN said the 11 playoff games during the 2025-26 season averaged 16.3 million viewers. The national championship between Indiana and Miami attracted 30.1 million viewers across ESPN’s MegaCast coverage, an increase of approximately 36 percent from the 22.1 million who watched Ohio State defeat Notre Dame in the previous championship. It was the most-watched college football game in 11 years and the second most-watched national championship of the playoff era, according to ESPN.
The current 12-team format will conclude with the upcoming postseason. First-round games are scheduled for December 18 and 19, with the national championship set for January 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
All college football games, including College Football Playoff events, stream on the ESPN app with a cable or satellite plan, or with a subscription to ESPN Unlimited.
