In a surprise move, TNT has acquired rights to College Football Playoff games in a sublicensing agreement with ESPN.
ESPN has agreed to sublicense two first round CFP games to TNT in each of the next two seasons, plus an additional two quarterfinal games in each of the subsequent three seasons. TNT will serve as the primary network carrying the games, though it is likely that other Warner Bros. Discovery networks will have simulcast coverage.
Notably, the ESPN networks will carry all other CFP games — meaning that Fox Sports, which had been mentioned as a likely sublicensing partner, will be shut out.
According to Alex Sherman of CNBC, ESPN has the option to sublicense a semifinal game to TNT starting in 2026. Sherman also reported that the TNT games will be produced by ESPN and use ESPN announcers, but with TNT branding.
WBD had been floated by the New York Post as a possible bidder for the College Football Playoff rights when those were up for bid last year.
The TNT Sports networks have not carried college football in nearly two decades — since TBS aired a smattering of Big 12 and Pac-10 rights in the mid-2000s — but are well established in the college sports space by way of their joint NCAA men’s basketball tournament rights deal with CBS.
The College Football Playoff is arguably the most significant addition to the TNT Sports line-up since the formation of Warner Bros. Discovery in 2022, joining the NASCAR Cup Series and MotoGP racing. (TNT’s NHL rights deal was struck under previous leadership.)
Wednesday’s announcement comes at a challenging time for WBD, which faces the prospect of losing its most significant property — the NBA.
The sublicensing agreement marks the third partnership between Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery just this year, joining the “Venu” sports streaming venture with Fox Sports and a new bundle of Disney+, Hulu and Max, both of which are set to bow this year.
There was no mention of when TNT will carry the two first round games this season. There will be four total first round games, with one on Friday, December 20 and the other three on Saturday, December 21. The NFL has scheduled two games for broadcast television the afternoon of December 21. One can assume — given that ESPN is controlling the rights to these events — that the TNT games will be the ones going head-to-head with the NFL.
