TNT Sports to add a CFP semifinal game for at least three years under license from ESPN

The TNT Sports agreement to sublicense College Football Playoff games from ESPN looks set to get even bigger. Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported Friday that the companies are set to expand that deal (which previously covered two first-round games, and was set to expand to a quarterfinal game in 2026) to include a semifinal game in each of the 2026 to 2028 seasons (games that would take place in January of the following year each year):

In a somewhat stunning move, ESPN is finalizing an agreement to extend its sublicense package with TNT Sports to include the CFP semifinal round, sources tell @YahooSports.

The deal would grant TNT Sports broadcasting rights to one CFP semifinal annually in 2026, 2027 and 2028.

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) June 6, 2025

ESPN & TNT already reached a deal that grants TNT the rights to two first-round CFP games for 2024-2028, as well as two quarterfinals for 2026-2028.

Aside from the championship game, the networks will split the broadcast of the other 10 CFP games in 2026-28 (barring expansion).

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) June 6, 2025

It’s interesting to see this deal expand further. ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro previously said last July his company was initially focused on broadcasting all these games themselves, only licensing some to TNT and parent Warner Bros. Discovery thanks to an “extremely attractive” offer (which even has included ESPN keeping the ad revenue, at least so far). That offer must have gotten better still for it now to include a semifinal. And that’s also notable after TNT didn’t see massive ratings numbers for this deal’s debut this past season.

This fits with TNT Sports’ continued push into a variety of other sports following their loss of NBA rights, with the NBA set for ESPN/ABC, NBC, and Amazon deals beginning this fall. College football and college basketball have both been part of that, as have deals for other sports such as tennis’ French Open and the FIFA Club World Cup (sublicensed from DAZN). And picking up CFP rights up to a semifinal is arguably their biggest post-NBA move yet.