ESPN and The College Football Playoff Deal: Whopping $7.8 billion
Bollywood Fever, March 20: The College Football Playoff and ESPN have announced a massive $7.8 billion agreement on Tuesday, granting the network exclusive broadcasting rights to the expanded postseason games through the 2031 season. Starting in 2026, the national championship game will be aired on ABC.
Although specific financial details were not disclosed, it has been reported that the new six-year deal will see the CFP and its participating conferences earn $1.3 billion each year.
This deal was anticipated following an agreement in principle reached several weeks ago between the CFP and ESPN. However, the college conferences participating in the playoff needed to sign a new six-year partnership agreement first. This agreement, along with a revised revenue-sharing plan, was finalized last week.
The updated contracts with ESPN adjust the terms for the last two years of the current contract to accommodate the expansion from four to twelve teams, starting this season.
Bill Hancock, the CFP executive director, remarked, “It’s a significant day for the CFP and for the future of college football. ESPN’s comprehensive season-long coverage of the sport is unparalleled.”
While the conferences have agreed to expand the playoff to at least 12 teams by 2026, further expansion is possible. However, discussions on the format have been paused for now.
ESPN has broadcasted the CFP championship game for its first ten years and will continue to do so for the last two years of the original deal. In 2026, the championship will shift to ABC, ESPN’s parent network.
Nick Dawson, ESPN’s senior vice president for programming, mentioned that moving the championship to a broadcast network like ABC was a joint decision, aiming to reflect the playoff’s growing scale and significance.
ESPN also secured a $920 million, eight-year contract with the NCAA for broadcasting rights to the women’s Division I basketball tournament among 39 other championship events.
The ongoing contract with ESPN, which pays $470 million annually for three playoff games and four major bowl games, will expire after the 2025 football season. Although there was a preference for involving multiple media partners in the expanded CFP after the original deal’s expiration, the market dynamics led to ESPN being the sole bidder willing to secure the entire package.
The agreement does permit ESPN to sublicense some games to other networks.
Patrick Crakes, a media consultant and former Fox Sports executive, wasn’t surprised by ESPN retaining the rights, citing the economic challenges and cautious approach of major digital companies like Apple and Amazon towards such investments.
Crakes highlighted that ESPN was in the best position to secure the CFP rights, noting that while other networks like Fox might have been interested, ESPN’s existing commitment and strategy made it the most viable option.
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