ESPN, TNT Sports strike 5-year deal for College Football Playoff games

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - ESPN and TNT Sports reached a five-year agreement for TNT Sports to sublicense select College Football Playoff (CFP) games from ESPN, TNT's owner Warner Bros. Discovery announced late Wednesday in a statement.

Starting with the upcoming college football season, the American network TNT Sports will present two first-round College Football Playoff games during the 2024 and 2025 seasons, said the statement.

In addition to the first-round games, TNT Sports will add two quarterfinal games each year, beginning with the 2026 season through the 2028 season, according to the deal.

ESPN, an American sports channel owned by The Walt Disney Company, meanwhile will present all other College Football Playoff games on its networks including the annual CFP National Championship Game, while it will also continue to manage the sponsorship program for the presentation of the CFP.

The deal comes as this year will mark the expansion of the CFP from four teams to 12.

ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery formed a joint venture in February to launch a streaming sports service in the US.

The platform will include NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, college sports, UFC, PGA TOUR Golf, Grand Slam Tennis, the FIFA World Cup, cycling and more.