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Media influence: who controls college football on TV

TV assignments and prices as of 2026-10-12 · 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
OwnerPropertyValueTermSources
The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC)SEC~$300M/yr from 2024 (Tier 1, CBS package taken over); SBJ total ~$710M/yr incl. SECNthrough 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 CorporationBig Ten (shared w/ CBS, NBC)$8.05B over 7 yrs (all three networks)through 2029-30[SP1] [M-S56]
Fox CorporationBig 12 (shared w/ ESPN)$2.28B totalthrough 2030-31[SP1]
Skydance Corporation (CBS; formerly Paramount Skydance) - acquired Warner Bros. Discovery Oct 6, 2026Big Ten (3:30 ET window)part of $8.05Bthrough 2029-30[SP1]
Skydance Corporation (CBS; formerly Paramount Skydance) - acquired Warner Bros. Discovery Oct 6, 2026BowlsSun Bowl (1 of 46 postseason games)[MD24]
Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT Sports; part of Skydance since Oct 6, 2026)CFP sublicense from ESPN"hundreds of millions" per yr average (undisclosed)5 yrs from 2024-25[SP5] [SP6]
Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT Sports; part of Skydance since Oct 6, 2026)Big 12 sublicenseundisclosedfrom 2025[SP9] [SP10]
Comcast (NBC/Peacock)Big Ten primetime (Big Ten Saturday Night)part of $8.05Bthrough 2029-30[SP1] [MD20]
Comcast (NBC/Peacock)Notre Dame home gamesundisclosed; reported ~$50M/yr (up from ~$22M)through 2029[SP2] [SP3] [SP4]
Nexstar (The CW)ACC sublicense from ESPNundisclosedthrough 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

NetworkOwnership / statusSource
SEC NetworkESPN-owned and operated (SEC partner)[SP1]
ACC NetworkESPN-owned and operated[SP1]
Longhorn NetworkESPN (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 NetworkFox ~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 holderToWhatSources
The Walt Disney Company (ESPN/ABC)WBD/TNTCFP 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/TNTBig 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.

Announced 2026 games by network

Unique P4+ND games: 478; TV announced 314; TBD 164 (as of 2026-10-12, ESPN data MD25; Oct 5: 285 announced, 193 TBD; Oct 1: 279 announced, 199 TBD). One game can list several networks. [MD25]

ESPN
43 games
FOX
31 games
BTN
30 games
ABC
25 games
ACCN
23 games
SECN
19 games
ESPN2
18 games
FS1
18 games
SECN+
17 games
NBC
16 games
ESPN+
15 games
ESPNU
11 games
CBS
11 games
ACCNX
10 games
CW
8 games
PEACOCK
7 games
TNT
7 games
ESPNEWS
4 games
CBSSN
4 games

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)
1,000+ games in 2026; every game streams in ESPN App; ABC airs ACC, Big 12, SEC title games and Black Friday tripleheader; ESPN networks ~70% share of CFB ad market (ESPN figure) [MD20] [SP84]

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]

Skydance Corporation (CBS; formerly Paramount Skydance) - acquired Warner Bros. Discovery Oct 6, 2026

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 completed its acquisition of WBD on Oct 6, 2026 (combined company renamed Skydance Corporation), putting CBS, CBSSN, Paramount+, TNT, truTV and HBO Max under one owner (CFP sublicense + Big 12 + Big Ten) [MD50] [MD34]

Warner Bros. Discovery (TNT Sports; part of Skydance since Oct 6, 2026)

TNT, truTV, TBS, HBO Max
5 CFP games in 2026-27; live sports on HBO Max require Standard ($18.49) or Premium [MD22] [MD23] [MD8]

Comcast (NBC/Peacock)

NBC, Peacock, USA
Peacock exclusives: in 2026 data, 6 P4/ND games streamed only on Peacock (e.g., three 9/19 exclusives; Wisconsin-Penn State; Notre Dame-Purdue 9/26) [MD20] [MD25]

Nexstar (The CW)

The CW
140 hours of CFB programming; Arizona Bowl [MD20] [MD24]

Amazon (Prime Video)

Prime Video
No 2026 Power 4/Notre Dame game found on Prime Video in ESPN schedule data [MD25]

Netflix / YouTube (Google)

Netflix, YouTube, YouTube TV (distributor)
No 2026 P4/ND rights found. YouTube TV matters as distributor: Sports Plan $64.99 and the Oct 30-Nov 14, 2025 Disney blackout [MD25] [MD10] [MD32]

Fan experience