A logo for the College Football Playoff First Round Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images
By Drew Lerner on

Kickoff times for the second-ever 12-team College Football Playoff have officially been revealed, and it looks a bit different than last season.

The main change comes in the first round, the only round in which the television broadcasts are split between two partners. As a result of ESPN’s sublicense agreement with TNT Sports, TNT will again air two first round games this season. Last year, those games were played in the noon ET and mid-afternoon windows during the first Saturday of the CFP. Both games competed directly with a NFL doubleheader in the same windows. This year, TNT’s games will air in the mid-afternoon window and the primetime window that Saturday, with ESPN taking the noon ET kickoff.

However, this isn’t an olive branch from ESPN. Both of TNT’s games will, in all likelihood, still compete directly with NFL competition. Fox will air a doubleheader featuring Green Bay Packers-Chicago Bears game and Philadelphia Eagles-Washington Commanders game that Saturday, December 20. And while the NFL hasn’t announced kickoff times for those games yet, they will almost certainly fall in the mid-afternoon and primetime windows, right when TNT’s first round games will air. That’s because Fox already has a high-octane women’s college basketball game scheduled for 1 p.m. ET between Iowa and UConn.

Aside from TNT switching from the noon and mid-afternoon slots to the mid-afternoon and primetime slots, nothing has changed. The CFP will still kickoff with one game on Friday night on ESPN and ABC. All games following the first round will air exclusively on ESPN. The quarterfinals will see one game on New Year’s Eve with the three other contests on New Year’s Day. The semifinals will hold one game on Thursday night and another on Friday night. And the National Championship will be played on a Monday.

This year marks the final playoff under the “old” television agreement (though, it’s obviously been updated to accommodate the 12-team format). As such, it’s the final playoff in which ABC will only simulcast first round games. Beginning next year, ABC will almost certainly simulcast every game of the CFP that ESPN broadcasts.

Also starting next year, TNT’s inventory will expand into the quarterfinals and semifinals via the same sublicensing agreement the network struck with ESPN in 2024. TNT will air two quarterfinal games and one semifinal game from 2026-2028.

About Drew Lerner

Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.

View all posts by Drew Lerner