ESPN Sublicenses Five CFP Games to TNT Sports for 2026-27 Season
ESPN and TNT Sports announced the 2026-27 College Football Playoff broadcast schedule. Five games will be sublicensed to TNT Sports and stream on HBO Max, highlighting evolving content rights and platform distribution strategies.
Key Takeaways
- Five College Football Playoff games will be sublicensed from ESPN to TNT Sports for the 2026-27 season.
- First-round and quarterfinal games sublicensed to TNT will also be available for streaming on HBO Max.
- The 2025-26 CFP season averaged 16.3 million viewers across 11 games, a 4% year-over-year increase.
- The national championship game in 2025-26 drew 30.1 million viewers, the second most-watched of the CFP era.
Why It Matters
The sublicensing of CFP games to TNT Sports and HBO Max indicates a continued trend of premier sports content diversifying its distribution beyond traditional single-network deals. This strategy aims to maximize reach and engagement, particularly with younger audiences consuming media across various platforms. For ESPN, it helps monetize its expanded rights package while leveraging Warner Bros. Discovery's audience. Competitors will be watching how this co-exclusive model affects viewership metrics across both platforms, particularly the streaming numbers for games on HBO Max in comparison to ESPN's digital properties throughout the season.
Read full article at sportsvideo.org
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