Pat McAfee on College GameDay Credit: ESPN
By Matt Yoder on

ESPN may have a deal to finally restore the network to YouTube TV, but they will continue to air one of their flagship programs, College GameDay, for free without need for authentication or a cable or satellite subscription.

While ESPN was in their extended carriage dispute with YouTube TV for two weeks, the network made College GameDay available via livestream on Pat McAfee’s X page. The move was a success as scores of fans flocked to social media to watch the show, both for YouTube TV subscribers and for anyone else surfing through social media that may have found it.

But even after the deal was done and ESPN networks were restored on Friday night, ESPN announced that they were livestreaming the show once again through McAfee’s socials and also for free on the ESPN app without the need for authenticating a subscription.

College GameDay is in Pittsburgh this week for a Top 25 clash between College Football Playoff hopefuls Notre Dame and the Pitt Panthers.

It’s a fascinating move from ESPN, who clearly saw this as one of their goodwill gestures in the midst of the dispute to make one of their most popular programs widely available even though YouTube TV customers were blacked out from the program. Although ratings the last two weeks didn’t match what the program drew earlier in the season, they did increase last Saturday from the week prior.

One of the draws of bringing Pat McAfee in to ESPN was his reach on digital and social as opposed to just linear television. This could just be a one week grace period while fans are still getting ESPN back on their YouTube TV platform. But there’s also the possibility that ESPN may feel like they stumbled into something that could greatly expand their reach for College GameDay while not sacrificing too much of their linear viewership.

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