ESPN and the College Football Playoff (CFP) have reached a new media rights agreement that makes ESPN the exclusive, worldwide rightsholder to the expanded 24-team College Football Playoff, beginning with the 2027-28 season. The home of the CFP since its inception in 2015, ESPN has secured the media rights to eight CFP First Round games, eight CFP Second Round games, four CFP Quarterfinals, two CFP Semifinals and the CFP National Championship – up from the 11 games in the current 12-team Playoff.
The agreement runs through the 2031-32 season and builds on the six-year agreement ESPN and the CFP announced in 2024, which began with the 2026-27 season. It also includes continued exclusive rights to all ancillary programming connected to the Playoff, such as the CFP Selection Show, weekly CFP Top 25 Rankings Shows and more.
As in the existing agreement, ESPN will have the right to sublicense select games in addition to its existing sublicense with TNT Sports, which was announced in May 2024. Additional details regarding programming plans and distribution of the expanded Playoff will be announced at a later date.
“ESPN and the College Football Playoff have worked collaboratively for more than a decade to make the CFP one of the marquee events in all of sports, and we remain firmly committed to elevating it in its new, expanded 24-team format,” said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro. “We value the trust that the CFP has placed in us as its exclusive media partner, and our continued presentation of this premier championship further solidifies ESPN as the home of college football and the destination for college sports for years to come.”
“We are thrilled to continue our broadcast relationship with ESPN, which has been a terrific partner of the CFP since its inception,” said CFP Executive Director Rich Clark. “Like the CFP, ESPN celebrates everything that makes the sport of college football so great. The promotion, storytelling and innovation ESPN brings to the CFP, college football fans and the sport in general, is second to none. We know that level of excellence will continue as we embark on this journey to a 24-team format.”
Beginning with the 2027-28 season and the expanded 24-team Playoff, ESPN will broadcast at least three games from each of the new CFP First Round and CFP Second Round on ABC, building on the added exposure offered this year via ABC and ESPN simulcasting the CFP National Championship (in addition to its signature MegaCast presentation across ESPN networks), as well as one CFP Semifinal, one CFP Quarterfinal and one CFP First Round game. The agreement also continues ESPN’s expansive rights to simulcast or MegaCast CFP games across all Walt Disney Company networks.
Disney Advertising will continue to serve as the exclusive seller of the College Football Playoff’s Official Sponsor Program, with additional inventory across the expanded schedule, connecting more brands to the fandom and reach of the CFP.
The agreement further strengthens ESPN’s position as the home of college football, building on an industry-leading college sports portfolio that includes long-term agreements with the NCAA, SEC, ACC, Big 12, American, Sun Belt, MAC, Conference USA, the Heisman Trophy Ceremony and many more, and comes as ESPN continues to expand its football offerings, including the integration of NFL Network and ESPN’s first Super Bowl.
ESPN’s presentation of the CFP has delivered record audiences in the 12-team era. In 2025-26, the 11-game Playoff averaged 16.3 million viewers, and the CFP National Championship between Indiana and Miami drew 30.1 million viewers across ESPN’s MegaCast presentation, the most-watched college football game in 11 years and the second most-watched national championship game of the CFP era. That was up roughly 36 percent from the 22.1 million viewers who watched the 2025 CFP National Championship between Ohio State and Notre Dame.
The 2026-27 Playoff will be played in the current 12-team format, with CFP First Round games on Dec. 18-19, 2026, and the CFP National Championship on Monday, Jan. 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.