ESPN reveals College Football Playoff TV schedule, includes added TNT games and ABC simulcasts

The 2026-27 College Football Playoff television schedule is now official, and it includes some changes from last year.

ESPN revealed dates, times, and television assignments for the upcoming College Football Playoff. Among the changes from last season are the number of games ESPN has sublicensed to TNT, and the number of games that will be simulcast on ABC. Additionally, bowl assignments for the three quarterfinal games on New Year’s Day are listed as TBD, opening up the possibility that the Rose Bowl could move out of its traditional mid-afternoon timeslot on January 1.

The countdown is ON!

TV schedule for the ’26-’27 #CFBPlayoff is here 🏆

Details: https://t.co/Br021BQ1Wa pic.twitter.com/Wc4rpjExGg

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) June 1, 2026

Starting with the first round, the schedule will follow a cadence similar to what fans have experienced in the first two years of the 12-team College Football Playoff. One game will be played on Friday, December 18, and the three other games will be played on Saturday, December 19. ESPN will exclusively air the Friday opener, a departure from the previous two years, when that game was simulcast on ABC.

Then, ESPN and ABC will air the noon ET kickoff on Saturday, the only Saturday game not in direct competition with an NFL doubleheader scheduled for the same day. TNT will take over first-round coverage on Saturday afternoon, airing the 3:30 p.m. ET and 7:30 p.m. ET kickoffs. Those games will compete with a Seahawks-Eagles game at 5 p.m. ET on Fox, and a Bears-Bills game at 8:20 p.m. ET on CBS.

For the first time, TNT will broadcast two quarterfinal games as part of an expanded sublicense agreement with ESPN. TNT will air the Fiesta Bowl on Wednesday, December 30, at 7:30 p.m. ET. It’s the first time in the 12-team era that the first quarterfinal game has been moved off of New Year’s Eve. TNT will then air the first of three quarterfinal games on New Year’s Day at noon ET. ESPN will then take the reins, broadcasting the 4 p.m. ET game, which for the first time will be simulcast on ABC, and the 8 p.m. ET game, which will air exclusively on ESPN. One could reasonably anticipate that the Rose Bowl will maintain its mid-afternoon window, but the playoff committee confirmed on Monday that the game could move to 8 p.m. ET this year. The Sugar Bowl and Peach Bowl will fill out the remainder of the quarterfinal round.

As part of its expanded sublicense agreement, TNT will also broadcast a semifinal game for the first time. The network will broadcast the Orange Bowl on Thursday, January 14, at 7:30 p.m. ET. ESPN will take the Sugar Bowl on Friday, January 15, at 7:30 p.m. ET. That game will also be simulcast on ABC, which had not been the case under the prior scheduling arrangements.

Finally, the national championship will air Monday, January 25, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and ABC. Again, it will be the first time ABC has simulcast the national title game during the 12-team era.