• Loading stock data...
Saturday, March 29, 2025
Nominations Are Open for Front Office Sports Honors! Submit Now

CFP Considers Super Bowl-Like Rotation For National Championship Game

  • College football’s title game could rotate among multiple media partners annually, sources told Front Office Sports.
  • ESPN’s contract, which includes exclusive rights to the National Championship, expires after the 2025 season.
The College Football Playoff is considering rotating TV networks for the national championship game.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The College Football Playoff (CFP) may take a page out of the NFL for its National Championship game.

For its next long-term cycle of media rights, the CFP wants to sign multiple network TV partners. Similar to the Super Bowl, the CFP is considering a structure that would rotate the title game among those media partners on an annual basis, sources told Front Office Sports. 

The goal: maximize rights fees and cross promotion for college football’s National Championship, which draws far smaller TV viewership than the Super Bowl. 

ESPN is on the tail end of a 12-year, $5.64 billion rights deal that pays the CFP an estimated $470 million a year. But ESPN’s contract, which includes exclusive rights to the National Championship, expires after the 2025 season.

Virtually every major media player has expressed interest in the rights to the future 12-team playoff. The CFP has begun preliminary discussions about rights starting with the 2026 season. The contenders range from ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports to giant streamers Amazon Prime Video and Apple, as FOS has previously reported.

The structure of the deal has not been agreed upon yet, however.

The NFL currently rotates Super Bowl broadcast rights among long-term TV partners CBS (which will air Super Bowl 58 from Las Vegas on Feb. 11), NBC and Fox. The Walt Disney Co.’s ABC/ESPN will join the Super Bowl rotation after the 2026 and 2030 seasons.

Using multiple partners to boost overall rights fees is the classic NFL strategy, which has been copied by competitors like NASCAR and the NHL. 

NASCAR just announced seven-year deals worth $7.7 billion that brought in new partners like Amazon and WBD Sports alongside incumbents NBC and Fox. Previously, the Big Ten announced a seven-year, $8 billion deal to spread its games across Fox, NBC and CBS through 2029. 

Despite ESPN’s creative use of “MegaCasts,” the National Championship Game needs a shot in the arm ratings-wise.

ESPN’s telecast of Georgia’s 65-7 blowout win over TCU this year averaged 17.2 million viewers — the least-watched National Championship since the dawn of the BCS/CFP era in 1999, according to Sports Media Watch

Those numbers less than the 18 million average viewers for NFL regular season games this year through Week 12. They are just half of the 35.6 million viewers for the 2006 USC vs. Texas Rose Bowl, and not even in the same ballpark as the record 115.1 million viewers for Fox’s telecast of the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 57. Still, it’s a tentpole property that attracts dozens of sponsors and upwards of $60 million in ad revenue.

ESPN and Fox — the ruling duopoly of college football TV — have already made presentations to the CFP.

But the opportunity for broadcast rivals like Fox or NBC to snatch rights away from ESPN will only add more spice to the bidding.

ESPN might be willing to give up part of the CFP to pay for other expensive rights like the NBA, sources said.

Cost-cutting Disney is no longer okay with ESPN simply outbidding rivals for marquee rights. Under chairman Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN has become more disciplined and picky: ESPN walked away from expensive Big Ten rights — despite a 40-year relationship with the conference.

Back in 2022, Pitaro told Bloomberg he’s “willing to be flexible” about sharing TV rights with other networks for the expanded CFP.

ESPN is set to televise this season’s National Championship game from Houston on Jan. 8, 2024.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Mar 27, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide guard Chris Youngblood (8) and the Alabama Crimson Tide bench celebrate during the second half against the Brigham Young Cougars during an East Regional semifinal of the 2025 NCAA tournament at Prudential Center.

How Alabama Became College Basketball’s Newest Juggernaut

The Crimson Tide have found success rivaling their historic football program.

NCAA Denies Colorado-Syracuse Spring Football Game

The schools hoped for permission to organize a formal scrimmage.
Matt Weiss

Everything You Need to Know About the Michigan Hacking Scandal

Matt Weiss is accused of hacking athletes’ accounts to access intimate photos.

UFL Kicking Off 2025 Season With Labor Fight Still Simmering

The league’s first game is still on, even without a labor deal in place.

Featured Today

Kendall Coyne Schofield

Kendall Coyne Schofield Wants More for the Next Wave of Mom-Athletes

The Walter Cup–winning Frost captain says small changes mean “everything.”
Dec 21, 2024; Hartford, Connecticut, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) looks to pass the ball against USC Trojans guard JuJu Watkins (12) in the first half at XL Center.
March 23, 2025

‘More Value to Be Had’: Were Women’s March Madness Media Rights Undersold?

Could the NCAA have gotten millions more in its latest TV deal?
Mar 20, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; Creighton Bluejays forward Jasen Green (0) dunks the ball during the second half against the Louisville Cardinals in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Rupp Arena
March 22, 2025

Basketball-Only Schools Could See Power Surge After House Settlement Approval 

Football teams might monopolize the revenue-sharing dollars at power conference schools.
Mar 15, 2025; New York, NY, USA; St. John's Red Storm guard RJ Luis Jr. (12) after hitting a three-point basket against the Creighton Bluejays in the second half at Madison Square Garden.
March 20, 2025

Perfect Storm: St. John’s Biggest Fans Can’t Bet on the School

In the No. 1 sports betting market, the Red Storm are off-limits.
exclusive

ESPN Making Erin Dolan In-Game Betting Analyst for UFL Games

Erin Dolan will provide betting news and notes during game broadcasts.
March 26, 2025

Yankees RSN Faces Comcast Blackout Threat Ahead of Opening Day

The Yankees-led RSN and the No. 2 U.S. cable carrier clash again.
Both teams line the field during the singing of the national anthem prior to the start of the opening day game between the NY Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
March 27, 2025

Yankees RSN, Comcast Reach Last-Minute Extension in Ongoing Dispute

The two sides will keep negotiating as large-scale issues remain unresolved.
Sponsored

How UBS Crafts Impactful Partnerships Across Sports, Arts, and Culture

As UBS continues to expand its impressive array of sports and entertainment partnerships, the company solidifies its position as a leader in wealth management.
Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) is pursued by Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jared Verse (8) during an NFC wild card game at State Farm Stadium.
March 26, 2025

RFK-Threatened Pharma Ad Ban Wouldn’t Hurt NFL Broadcasters

It wouldn’t be the first effort to restrict drug ads.
Apr 5, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; General view of Yankee Stadium before an opening day game between the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays.
March 25, 2025

Could ESPN Have a Future With MLB? Network Hints at Renegotiation

The Disney-owned network signals a willingness to renegotiate.
March 25, 2025

March Madness TV Ratings Surge to 32-Year High Despite No Cinderellas

Games so far have averaged 9.4 million viewers.
March 24, 2025

No Cinderella, No Problem: Why Sweet 16 Could Draw Huge Ratings

There are only four conferences represented in the men’s Sweet 16.