College Football Playoff broadcast: Disney, Warner Bros. split rights | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

There’s a Notre Dame grad Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) VP somewhere seething about the College Football Playoff.

Not only did Notre Dame get snubbed, but the University of Miami, which edged them out, is also playing Texas A&M on Dec. 20. The game will air on rival streamer Disney‘s (DIS) ABC/ESPN networks, despite this being the last year WBD and TNT have a share of College Football Playoff broadcasting rights, according to ESPN.

Whether you’re looking to hate-watch like that hypothetical VP or just supporting your team like a normal person, split broadcast rights between ESPN and TNT means you’ll need to know where to tune in.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found the “TV & streaming” function on Google more and more unreliable, particularly for college games. I also hate parsing through ad-filled, calorie-light articles.

So I propose you opt to endure this one ad-fueled but info-heavy article. Here’s how this year’s College Football Playoff (CFP) first-round broadcast coverage shakes out, with analysis of what broadcast rights will look like next year and beyond.

An important clause of ESPN’s landmark six-year, $7.8 billion deal (that it signed in 2024) kicks in starting next season.

“ESPN also secured a six-year agreement that will cost $1.3 billion annually beginning in the 2026-27 season,” ESPN announced last year.

“[This] includes exclusive rights to all rounds of the expanded playoff along with continued exclusive rights to all programming connected to the CFP, such as the CFP selection show, weekly Top 25 ranking shows and more.”

While that simplifies things next year and beyond, college football streamers’ trust was recently eroded by the recent Disney versus YouTubeTV blackout, and they’ll understandably want to be sure what airs where this year.

Feel free to Ctrl-F or Cmd-F and jump to your team of choice.

College Football Playoff broadcast schedule, channels

The College Football Playoff (CFP) expanded to a 12-team field last year, which has inspired much fanfare and debate (see the WSJ’s reporting). In parallel, this year’s playoffs were preceded by Dec. 7’s ESPN CFP selection show, which sparked its fair share of controversy (and debate) per The New York Times’ latest.

Regardless of your anger level at this arbitrary committee’s selection, ESPN posted on X (formerly Twitter) about this year’s CFP, which will involve four weeks of games, culminating with the national championship on January 19.

The College Football Playoff first round includes one game on Friday, Dec. 19, and three games on Saturday, Dec. 20. “Seeds 5-8 will host first-round games before the rest of the games are played at neutral venues,” The Athletic explains.

The broadcasts for the College Football Playoff’s first-round games will be split between Warner Bros.’ TNT networks (TNT/TruTV/HBO Max) and Disney’s networks (ABC/ESPN). The rest of the College Football Playoff games will be exclusively broadcast on Disney’s ESPN.

College Football Playoff first round broadcast schedule, channels, times

If you still only have broadcast network television, good for you, but check this buying guide for streaming television (especially helpful for sports fans). You’re set for the one ABC game on Friday, Dec. 19, but after that, you’ll need either ESPN or TNT to catch the contests.

College Football Playoff Friday, Dec. 19

Alabama (9) vs. Oklahoma (8): where to watch

No. 9 Alabama versus No. 8 Oklahoma: Friday, Dec. 19, 8 p.m. on ESPN/ABC Source: ESPN

Then, on Saturday, TNT will take on half the coverage. This will be its last College Football Playoff hurrah for the foreseeable future. Read up on Warner Bros. Discovery’s plans for the future of TNT and its related sports properties in my latest on the Warner Bros./Discovery split.

College Football Playoff Saturday, Dec. 20

Miami (10) vs. Texas A&M (7): where to watch

Miami (10) versus Texas A&M (7): Friday, Dec. 19, 12 p.m. on ESPN/ABC Source: ESPN

What a first course we have here. Notre Dame fans can eat their hearts out rooting for Miami to be unceremoniously tossed from the CFP, justifying their ire at the committee for including the Hurricanes over the Fighting Irish.

Even former Alabama coach Nick Saban defended the Irish in what has become the national sports debate of the moment, according to Bleacher Report.

“I think the fact of the matter is all three of those teams should’ve gotten in and deserve the right to play in the College Football Playoff,” Saban said, per Sports Illustrated.

“You’re going to have two teams in the Playoff, no disrespect to the Group of Five, that are nowhere near ranked as highly as some other teams that are much better than them.”

After this game, the reins go to TNT/TruTV/HBO Max for the next two battles.

Ole Miss (6) vs. Tulane (11): where to watch

Ole Miss (6) vs. Tulane (11): Saturday, Dec. 20, 3:30 p.m. on TNT/TruTV/HBO Max Source: TNT

Once this AAC (Tulane) and SEC (Ole Miss) clash ends, TNT passes the baton to itself for a late-night affair between powerhouse Oregon and belle of the ball, 12-1 James Madison, who earned the fifth and final conference champion automatic bid in dramatic fashion.

James Madison (12) vs. Oregon (5) where to watch

James Madison (12) vs. Oregon (5) : Saturday Dec. 20th, 7:30 p.m. on TNT/TruTV/HBO Max Source: TNT

When this game shows double zeroes, it marks the end of TNT’s college football rights for at least the next six years. Warner Bros.’ TNT also famously had the NBA snatched from below its nose by a combination of Amazon (AMZN), Comcast/NBCU (CMCSA), and Disney, which will pay $76 billion over 11 years for broadcast rights.

College Football Playoff Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Championship Game broadcast schedule, channels, times

Once Saturday’s games wrap, things get much simpler, as the rest of the College Football Playoff games air on ESPN. The Quarterfinals play on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, the Semifinals have a game apiece on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, and the Championship Game will kick off on Jan. 19, according to the NCAA’s official schedule release.

College Football Playoff bracket

Source:College Football Playoff

That’s an exciting field with nearly every team capable of making a run (and ample parity at the top after Indiana’s historic upset of Ohio).

Fox Sports notes that viewership should continue to impress, in good news to everyone aside from — possibly — Notre Dame fans and Warner Bros. stans.