ESPN hands off CFB Playoff Game To TNT
ESPN seems to be feeling the pain of putting its financial eggs in the wrong basket.
Yahoo Sports reported this week that ESPN and TNT Sports have reached a deal for ESPN to hand off broadcasting rights for one College Football Playoff semifinal game to TNT. The agreement runs from 2026-2028, per the new report.
ESPN owns the rights for the College Football Playoff through the 2031 season, but did have a pre-set deal in place with TNT for licensing some games. That led to TNT showing two first-round games in last season’s playoff, and it will show two more in the upcoming playoff.
TNT had already arranged to show two quarterfinal games each year from 2026-2028, but now it will get a semifinal game for those years as well.
Why would ESPN give away a semifinal game if not for financial reasons?
A detailed view of the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship logo at the 2025 CFP National Championship Playoff Fan Central at Georgia World Congress Center on January 18, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
ESPN Gives Away Semifinal College Football Playoff Game
There’s no secret that ESPN has faced financial challenges, evidenced by asking for a substantial discount from Major League Baseball for its existing package of games.
READ: Sunday Night Baseball MLB Ratings Show Why ESPN Made Another Huge Mistake
Maybe handing out billions to the NBA, despite its rapidly shrinking audience, was a bad idea, no?
The rights for the College Football Playoff are extremely expensive, and for good reason. One of the few consistent, reliable sports for attracting viewers is college football. Particularly the semifinals, which will almost certainly pair big-name team against big-name team.
Last season, for example, had the Ohio State Buckeyes against the Texas Longhorns on one side of the bracket, with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Penn State Nittany Lions on the other side. Those are some of the biggest brand names in the sport.
There’s no doubt ESPN holds on to the semifinals, if not for needing the money TNT will provide.
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