American Daddy Trader
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Stock
  • Editor’s Pick
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Stock
  • Editor’s Pick

American Daddy Trader

Business

Warner Bros. Discovery and ESPN strike 5-year deal for College Football Playoff games

by admin May 23, 2024
May 23, 2024
Warner Bros. Discovery and ESPN strike 5-year deal for College Football Playoff games

In a move to strengthen its sports offerings, Warner Bros. Discovery has signed a five-year sublicensing deal with Disney’s ESPN to broadcast first-round and quarterfinal College Football Playoff games.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT will carry two first-round games this year and next year and will add two additional quarterfinals games starting in 2026. Disney also has an option to sublicense a semifinals game to Warner Bros. Discovery starting with the third year of the deal if it chooses, according to people familiar with the matter.

Disney will keep exclusivity on the championship game throughout the terms of the contract, which runs through 2031, said the people, who asked not to be named because the details are private. Disney is paying about $1.3 billion per year for rights to the entire College Football Playoffs.

The new 12-team College Football Playoff slate debuts in December, replacing a four-team tournament that began in 2014. Under the new format, the top four teams get byes while teams seeded No. 5 through No. 12 play first-round games at the home stadium of the higher-ranked team.

ESPN will produce the games and primarily use ESPN talent for the broadcasts, which will be TNT branded, said the people familiar. As part of the sublicensing agreement, Warner Bros. Discovery is paying ESPN an average of “hundreds of millions” per year for the games over the course of five years, though less in years one and two when it only has two games per year, said the people.

“It is exciting to add TNT Sports, another highly respected broadcaster, to the College Football Playoff family,” said Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff, in a statement. “Sports fans across the country are intimately familiar with their work across a wide variety of sports properties over the past two decades, and we look forward to seeing what new and innovative ideas they bring to the promotion and delivery of these games.”

This year’s first round of the CFP will take place on Dec. 20 and 21.

Warner Bros. Discovery plans to add the games to its Max sports tier. The company is bulking up on live sports while in the middle of a difficult negotiation with the National Basketball Association for a package of live games.

TNT has been a partner to the NBA for nearly 40 years but risks losing the games to Comcast-owned NBCUniversal and Amazon if Warner Bros. Discovery decides to forgo its matching rights, or, potentially, if the league opts to ignore those rights. (NBCUniversal is the parent company of NBC News.)

College football is one of the most popular programs on television. Michigan’s semifinals victory over Alabama last year drew an average audience of 27.2 million viewers — the most watched non-NFL sporting event since 2018.

Even if Warner Bros. Discovery loses the NBA, it will now have both CFP and the NBA until mid-2025, in addition to several weeks of games for the NCAA men’s basketball March Madness tournament, men’s and women’s soccer, NASCAR, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League. That should help the company in its upcoming carriage renewal deals for TNT and its other cable networks.

ESPN sublicensing to Warner Bros. Discovery also keeps all of the CFP games on Venu Sports, the new sports streaming service that’s being developed by Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery and is expected to launch in the fall.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

previous post
Bitcoin Blasts ABOVE 70K!
next post
Target says shoppers are buying fewer groceries and home goods

You may also like

CNN says 47.9 million people watched the presidential...

June 30, 2024

How the Inflation Reduction Act sparked a manufacturing...

August 21, 2024

Dow tumbles 475 points, S&P 500 suffers worst...

April 13, 2024

Hermès to hike U.S. prices for iconic bags...

April 18, 2025

Shredded cheese recall over listeria concerns in 15...

March 9, 2024

Fed holds interest rates but keeps door open...

August 2, 2024

Boeing sweetens offer to union as strike enters...

September 25, 2024

Small businesses are still hungry to hire, but...

April 8, 2024

KFC moves U.S. headquarters from Kentucky to Texas

February 20, 2025

Albertsons sues Kroger after judge rules against grocery...

December 12, 2024

    Stay updated with the latest news, exclusive offers, and special promotions. Sign up now and be the first to know! As a member, you'll receive curated content, insider tips, and invitations to exclusive events. Don't miss out on being part of something special.


    By opting in you agree to receive emails from us and our affiliates. Your information is secure and your privacy is protected.

    Recent Posts

    • Trump 1.0 alums share chilling Google message from before second-term return: ‘LAWFARE at its finest’

      August 3, 2025
    • Dems dig in, Trump demands all: Nominee fight boils over in Senate as GOP looks for a deal

      August 3, 2025
    • Pirro confirmed as D.C. U.S. Attorney amid partisan clash as Dem nominee blockade continues

      August 3, 2025
    • Ex-Trump prosecutor Jack Smith under investigation by government watchdog Office of Special Counsel

      August 3, 2025
    • Trump tells Schumer to ‘GO TO HELL’ over Senate nominee deal funding demands after negotiations collapse

      August 3, 2025

    Archives

    • August 2025
    • July 2025
    • June 2025
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • August 2024
    • July 2024
    • June 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • March 2024
    • February 2024
    • January 2024

    Categories

    • Business
    • Editor's Pick
    • Politics
    • Stock
    • Uncategorized
    • About us
    • Contact us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Copyright © 2025 americandaddytrader.com | All Rights Reserved