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Media influence: who controls college football on TV
TV assignments and prices as of 2026-10-01 · rights values as reported by the cited sources (most contracts are not public).
A handful of media companies pay for the sport, own its conference networks, decide kickoff times and push games onto streaming. Want to watch? Use the watch guide.
Who pays what: rights deals
13 rows
| Owner | Property | Value | Term | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC) | SEC | ~$300M/yr from 2024 (Tier 1, CBS package taken over); SBJ total ~$710M/yr incl. SECN | through 2033-34 | [M-S57] [SP1] [M-S56] |
| The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC) | ACC | $4.8B over 20 yrs (grant of rights) | through 2036 | [SP1] [M-S56] |
| The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC) | Big 12 (shared with Fox) | $2.28B total (ESPN+Fox) | 2025-26 through 2030-31 | [SP1] |
| The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC) | CFP | ~$1.3B/yr, 6 yrs ($7.8B) | 2026-27 through 2031-32 | [M-S54] [M-S56] |
| Fox Corporation | Big Ten (shared w/ CBS, NBC) | $8.05B over 7 yrs (all three networks) | through 2029-30 | [SP1] [M-S56] |
| Fox Corporation | Big 12 (shared w/ ESPN) | $2.28B total | through 2030-31 | [SP1] |
| Paramount Skydance (CBS) - merging with Warner Bros. Discovery | Big Ten (3:30 ET window) | part of $8.05B | through 2029-30 | [SP1] |
| Paramount Skydance (CBS) - merging with Warner Bros. Discovery | Bowls | Sun Bowl (1 of 46 postseason games) | [MD24] | |
| Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT Sports) | CFP sublicense from ESPN | "hundreds of millions" per yr average (undisclosed) | 5 yrs from 2024-25 | [SP5] [SP6] |
| Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT Sports) | Big 12 sublicense | undisclosed | from 2025 | [SP9] [SP10] |
| Comcast (NBC/Peacock) | Big Ten primetime (Big Ten Saturday Night) | part of $8.05B | through 2029-30 | [SP1] [MD20] |
| Comcast (NBC/Peacock) | Notre Dame home games | undisclosed; reported ~$50M/yr (up from ~$22M) | through 2029 | [SP2] [SP3] [SP4] |
| Nexstar (The CW) | ACC sublicense from ESPN | undisclosed | through 2030-31 | [SP8] |
CONFLICT Big Ten deal: $8.05B (BOCS/SBJ) vs. "$7 billion" (Big Ten filings via Sportico) [SP1] [SP113]. Notre Dame-NBC (~$50M/yr) and the CFP-TNT sublicense fee are reported, not disclosed.
Conference network ownership
| Network | Ownership / status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| SEC Network | ESPN-owned and operated (SEC partner) | [SP1] |
| ACC Network | ESPN-owned and operated | [SP1] |
| Longhorn Network | ESPN (deal with Texas/IMG; terms not re-verified here) · Linear channel ended June 30, 2024 when Texas joined SEC; relaunched as free LHN streaming service July 1, 2024 | [MD27] [MD28] |
| Big Ten Network | Fox ~61% (raised from 51% in 2021 after Big Ten exercised put); Big Ten the rest | [MD29] [MD30] |
Sublicenses: CFP on TNT, ACC on The CW, Big 12 on TNT
| Rights holder | To | What | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC) | WBD/TNT | CFP games: 2 first-round, 2 QFs (incl. Fiesta), 1 semifinal (Orange) in 2026-27; TNT now sells its own ads | [SP5] [SP6] [SP7] [MD22] [MD23] |
| The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC) | The CW (Nexstar) | ACC football/basketball sublicense extended through 2030-31; CW games also stream on ESPN Unlimited | [SP8] [MD20] |
| The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC) | WBD/TNT | Big 12 football sublicense (13 games/season on TNT, truTV, HBO Max) from 2025 | [SP9] [SP10] [MD23] |
How networks shape the sport
Realignment, kickoff windows, streaming-only games, price increases, blackouts, the CFP TV map and the CBS-TNT merger.
- Realignment: Networks relayed school TV valuations to conferences during realignment (anonymous FBS AD); former Boston College AD Gene DeFilippo (2011): "ESPN is the one who told us what to do"; ESPN's Skipper on LHN keeping Texas in the Big 12; Texas/Oklahoma moved into ESPN's exclusive SEC; USC/UCLA/Oregon/Washington into Fox-led Big Ten [MD30] [MD27]
- Kickoff windows / Big Noon: Fox's Big Noon window produces 9 a.m. Pacific kickoffs for West Coast Big Ten teams; USC-Oregon shifted to CBS [MD31] [MD20]
- Night games and Friday: NBC Big Ten Saturday Night; ACC record 15 Friday games; ESPN sees Friday opportunity [MD20] [SP84]
- Black Friday: ABC tripleheader (Egg Bowl, Florida-Florida State, Texas-Texas A&M); CBS Nebraska-Iowa; NBC Minnesota-Wisconsin [MD20]
- ESPN and the CFP/SEC: ESPN holds CFP rights (~$1.3B/yr from 2026) and all SEC rights, then sublicenses CFP inventory to TNT; it also airs the SEC/ACC/Big 12 title games [M-S54] [SP5] [SP6] [MD20]
- Streaming exclusives: Of 279 unique P4/ND games with TV announced as of 10/1/2026, 45 were streaming-only: SECN+ 17, ESPN+ 15, ACCNX 7, Peacock 6; 4 games were only on CBSSN (no standalone streamer) [MD25]
- DTC launches and bundles: ESPN Unlimited launched Aug 21, 2025; ESPN-Fox One bundle $39.99 (Oct 2025); Venu Sports (ESPN/Fox/WBD) canceled Jan 10, 2025 [MD3] [MD36] [MD33]
- Cost growth: ESPN Unlimited $29.99 to $31.99 and Select $12.99 to $13.99 (Sept 17, 2026); Peacock Premium $10.99 to $12.99, its fourth hike in four years; YouTube TV main plan +28% since 2023; Fubo Sports $55.99 to $64.99 [MD1] [MD3] [MD5] [MD35] [MD12] [MD18]
- Blackouts / carriage fights: ESPN/ABC dark on YouTube TV for about two weeks (Oct 30-Nov 14, 2025) during CFB season [MD32]
- Local broadcast decline: Linear LHN closed; CBS moved off SEC to Big Ten; with TV announced, many games are cable- or stream-only. Free OTA covers ABC/CBS/FOX/NBC/CW games only [MD27] [M-S57] [MD25]
- Ad market: National TV CFB ad revenue for the top 7 networks Sept 1-Nov 18, 2025 was $859.9M (Fox $215.4M, ABC $192M, CBS $153.1M) [SP89]
- CFP 2026-27 TV map: first round Dec 18 ESPN; Dec 19 ABC/ESPN + two TNT games; QFs Dec 30 TNT (Fiesta), Jan 1 TNT, ABC/ESPN, ESPN; semis Jan 14 TNT (Orange), Jan 15 ABC/ESPN (Sugar); title Jan 25 ABC/ESPN. 2025-26 CFP averaged 16.3M viewers and the title game drew 30.1M [MD22] [MD24]. TNT sells its own CFP ads (semifinal 30-sec ~$700-750K) [SP7].
- One company, two rights holders: when Paramount-WBD closes (expected Oct 6, 2026), CBS (Big Ten) and TNT (Big 12, CFP sublicense) will share an owner [MD34].
Announced 2026 games by network
Unique P4+ND games: 478; TV announced 279; TBD 199 (as of 2026-10-01, ESPN data MD25). One game can list several networks. [MD25]
The owners
The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC)
ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPN+/ESPN Select, SECN+, ACCNX, ESPN Unlimited (DTC)
Fox Corporation
FOX, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network (~61% Fox), Fox One (DTC)
137 games in 2026 incl. 89 Big Ten; Big Noon Kickoff; Big Ten Championship on FOX Dec 5 (CONFLICT with earlier rotation reports naming NBC); all FOX/FS1/FS2/BTN games simulcast on Fox One [MD20]
Paramount Skydance (CBS) - merging with Warner Bros. Discovery
CBS, CBS Sports Network, Paramount+
14 Big Ten games at 3:30 ET; Black Friday Nebraska-Iowa; CBSSN carries non-P4-host games that are not on any standalone streamer (e.g., UConn home games vs Syracuse, UNC, Maryland; Cal at UNLV) [MD20] [MD25]
Merger: Paramount Skydance-WBD merger expected to close Oct 6, 2026, putting CBS, CBSSN, Paramount+, TNT, truTV and HBO Max under one owner (CFP sublicense + Big 12 + Big Ten) [MD34]
Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT Sports)
TNT, truTV, TBS, HBO Max
Comcast (NBC/Peacock)
NBC, Peacock, USA
Amazon (Prime Video)
Prime Video
No 2026 Power 4/Notre Dame game found on Prime Video in ESPN schedule data [MD25]
Fan experience
- To see every game of one Big 12 team takes 3 streaming brands (ESPN, Fox One, HBO Max). The Big Ten takes Fox One + Peacock + an antenna for CBS, plus a live-TV bundle for a few CBSSN games. Of 279 announced P4/ND games, 45 are streaming-only.
- Prices rose in 2026: ESPN Unlimited +6.7%, Select +7.7% [MD3]; Peacock Premium +18% [MD5] [MD35]; Fubo Sports +$9 [MD18]. YouTube TV main plan is +28% since 2023 [MD12].
- Carriage blackouts: the YouTube TV-Disney dispute blacked out ESPN/ABC for two weeks during the 2025 season [MD32].
- The Venu Sports bundle (ESPN/Fox/WBD) died before launch [MD33]. The replacement is ESPN-Fox One ($39.99), which does not include WBD/TNT [MD36].
- Live TV bundles (YouTube TV, Hulu Live, Sling, DirecTV, Fubo) cost $46-$110/mo; standalone streamers are cheaper for most single-team fans.