ESPN Inks Deal For New College Football Playoff

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, November 21, 2012

ESPN and the group that will administer the new college football playoff have reached an agreement to present the playoff games and selected other games for 12 years on an exclusive basis across ESPN's platforms, including ESPN Radio. The agreement will begin after the 2014 regular season (including January, 2015) and continue through after the 2025 regular season (January 2026).

The new deal includes the national championship game and semifinals, as well as other bowl games that will be part of the rotation to host the semifinals. Combined with previous deals for the Rose, Sugar and Orange Bowls, the arrangement would provide ESPN with rights to all games that are involved in the new post-season arrangement to determine a college football national champion.

ESPN will feature the games on ESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN Mobile TV and via WatchESPN on computers, smartphones, tablets and Xbox LIVE. Additionally, ESPN would have the rights to distribute the matchups on ESPN 3D, ESPN Deportes and around the world via ESPN International. The arrangement provides ESPN with rights to: championship games, coverage of two semifinals each year matching four seeded teams, additional bowls in the playoff format, and related programming.