While it appears very possible that TNT will end up losing its NBA rights starting in 2025, the Warner Bros. Discovery channel isn't done with sports.

TNT Sports just entered into a sublicensing agreement with ESPN that will put two College Football Playoff first-round games on TNT for the next five years. 

Additionally, starting in 2026, when ESPN's extension with the CFP kicks in, TNT will also have rights to quarterfinals matchups. 

“We’re delighted to reach this agreement with ESPN, providing TNT Sports the opportunity to showcase these College Football Playoff games on our platforms for years to come,” said Luis Silberwasser, chairman and CEO of TNT Sports. “TNT Sports aims to delight fans and drive maximum reach and engagement for these marquee games.”

Also read: ESPN Signs 6-Year, $7.8 Billion Extension for the Expanding College Football Playoff Tournament

ESPN has been the exclusive broadcast partner of the CFP since 2015, when the four-team tournament replaced the Bowl Championship Series as the sole arbiter of college football’s highest-echelon national championship. 

In March, ESPN signed a six-year, $7.8 billion deal to remain the main TV partner for the expanding College Football Playoff.

Starting with the upcoming 2024-25 season, the CFP will expand from a four-team to a 12-team format, and ESPN's coverage will expand along with it, starting with the final two years of its current contract and continuing through the six-year extension. 

Disney-owned ESPN will now have exclusive rights to the entire plus-sized CFP, which includes all rounds of the expanded playoff. ESPN will have exclusive rights to all four first-round games, as well as three quarterfinals and two semifinals matchups that will be added to the network's existing New Years Six bowl package, with legacy bowl games once again doubling as CFP quarterfinal and semifinal matchups. 

The initial rounds will be followed by Disney’s exclusive presentation of the championship game, which will be simulcasted on ABC starting in 2027. 

With ESPN's CFP plate growing from three games to 11, the new deal allows the network to sublease games, starting in the amended final two years of the contract. 

Here's how the format will shape up for the next two seasons, courtesy of the NCAA:

ESPN has signed a six-year, $7.8 billion deal to remain the main TV partner for the expanding College Football Playoff. 

The deal, formally announced by ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro on Tuesday morning while speaking at Axios' What's Next Summit, will extend ESPN's deal with the CFP through 2032 and pay the tournament $1.3 billion a season. (ESPN subsequently announced full details of its new deal, which was first reported with unofficial sourcing a month ago by The Athletic.)

ESPN has been the exclusive broadcast partner of the CFP since 2015, when the four-team tournament replaced the Bowl Championship Series as the sole arbiter of college football's highest echelon national championship. 

The deal extends ESPN's rights from when the current 12-year deal concludes at the end of the 2025-26 season through the 2031-32 campaign.

Starting with the upcoming 2024-25 season, the CFP will expand from a four-team to a 12-team format, and ESPN's coverage will expand along with it, starting with the final two years of its current contract and continuing through the six-year extension. 

Disney-owned ESPN will now have exclusive rights to the entire plus-sized CFP, which includes all rounds of the expanded playoff. ESPN will have exclusive rights to all four first-round games, as well as three quarterfinals and two semifinals matchups that will be added to the network's existing New Years Six bowl package, with legacy bowl games once again doubling as CFP quarterfinal and semifinal matchups. 

The initial rounds will be followed by Disney's exclusive presentation of the championship game, which will be simulcasts on ABC starting in 2027. 

Here's a comparison of the old format  the new one, courtesy of an NCAA CFP primer:

With ESPN's CFP plate growing from three games to 11, the new deal allows the network to sublease games, starting in the amended final two years of the contract. 

ESPN and Disney have committed more than $9 billion annually for expensive live-sports TV rights packages, including a separate eight-year, $920 million deal signed with the NCAA in January to show 40 championship games, including the Division I women's national basketball title matchup. 

Then there are the really huge contracts, including an NFL rights package, which includes Monday Night Football, that runs $2.7 billion a season, as well as an NBA deal that will soon expand in scope upon pending renewal. 

The backdrop, of course, is a pay TV distribution profile, that's 25 million users smaller than it was a decade ago due to video cord-cutting.

"ESPN has worked very closely with the College Football Playoff over the past decade to build one of the most prominent events in American sports," Pitaro said in a statement. "We look forward to enhancing our valued relationship over the next two years, and then continuing it for six more as we embark on this new, expanded playoff era."

Football action, led by the College Football Playoff, dominates the schedule of live sports events on TV over the New Year’s holiday weekend.

ESPN on New Year’s Day will air the College Football Playoff semifinal games, including top-ranked Michigan facing No. 4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl and second-ranked Washington battling No. 3 Texas in the Sugar Bowl. Also on January 1, ESPN will televise the Fiesta Bowl between No. 23 Liberty and No. 8 Oregon. 

On Saturday, ESPN will televise the Cotton Bowl (No. 9 Missouri-No. 7 Ohio State), the Peach Bowl (No. 11 Ole Miss-No. 10 Penn State), and the Orange Bowl (No. 6 Georgia-No. 5 Florida State). 

Week 17 of the NFL schedule will feature a Saturday ABC and ESPN simulcast of the Dallas Cowboys-Detroit Lions game. On Sunday afternoon, CBS and Fox will televise regional NFL game coverage, while NBC’s Sunday Night Football matchup will feature the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings. 

On the basketball court, top-ranked college basketball schools in action on Saturday include second-ranked Kansas against Wichita State on ESPN2 and third-ranked Houston against Pennsylvania on ESPN Plus. On Sunday, fourth-ranked Arizona faces Stanford. On the women’s side, Saturday’s schedule features top-ranked South Carolina meeting East Carolina on ESPN2, second-ranked UCLA playing sixth-ranked USC on the Pac12 Network, fourth-ranked Iowa meeting Minnesota on BTN, and fifth-ranked Texas battling No.10 Baylor on Fox. On Sunday, third-ranked NC State faces Virginia on ACCN. 

On the soccer field, USA Network, Peacock and NBC will combine to feature nine live Premier League games over the three-day holiday weekend.

ESPN ended its coverage of the 2022 college football season at the top of the primetime ratings chart.

Bolstered by the more than 16 million viewers who tuned into Georgia’s blowout of TCU in the January 9 College Football Playoff National Championship game, ESPN averaged 3 million viewers in primetime during the week of January 9-15 to top all cable networks for the second week in a row, according to Nielsen.

Fox News Channel finished second with 2.2 million viewers, followed by MSNBC’s 1 million viewers, Hallmark Channel’s 870,000 viewers and HGTV’s 838,000 watchers. 

Rounding out the top 10 most watched networks in primetime were History (764,000 viewers), TBS (661,000), INSP (655,000), TLC (651,000) and TNT (624,000), said the network.

Fox News topped the total-day chart for the second week in a row, averaging 1.4 million viewers. ESPN was second with 881,000 viewers, followed by MSNBC (659,000), Hallmark Channel (461,000) and HGTV (459,000), reported Nielsen. ■  

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for December 26-January 1, highlighting network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the real-time TV measurement company. Rankings are by share of TV ad impressions, for new episodes only.

College football’s biggest bowl games helped the sport deliver the largest share of TV ad impressions from December 26-January 1. Major contests like the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl, and thrilling College Football Playoff semifinal matchups in the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl, totaled 20.64% of TV ad impressions — up from 2.04% the previous week.

More insights about the top programs by share of TV ad impressions:

• This was the biggest week for college football all season by TV ad impressions. iSpot’s 2022 report also revealed college football was the No. 2 program on TV for the year, with 3.11%  impressions.
• The NFL vacated the top spot in our ranking for the first time since the regular season kicked off, but the sport was still No. 1 for the year, with 6.55% of TV ad impressions.
• Even up against the Peach Bowl’s exciting finish, New Year’s Eve specials were still among the week’s top programs, with New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash and Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve With Ryan Seacrest both making the cut.
• CNN Newsroom gets a week-over-week lift from No. 16 to No. 11 by share of TV ad impressions, in part due to 14% more ad airings.
• NBC’s The Wheel game show (a spinoff of the British show of the same name) climbs from No. 33 to No. 19 week-over-week in our ranking.
• Holiday breaks and big games helped fuel week-over-week growth for SportsCenter, up from No. 9 to No. 4 by TV ad impressions — a fitting close to the year after the program also increased impressions by 38% vs. 2021.

ESPN reaped the benefits of college football’s bowl blitz, as the network soars to No. 1 in our TV-ad-impressions-by-network ranking, with 17.35%. That’s a significant week-over-week increase versus 7.24% from December 19-25, when ESPN was No. 6 by TV ad impressions.

Additional notes on the top networks by share of TV ad impressions from December 26-January 1:

• CBS leaned on late-season NFL action to score nearly 15% of the week’s TV ad impressions; the NFL is also a big part of the network’s No. 1 ranking by share of TV ad impressions in 2022 (at 14.55%).
• Interest in football boosted cable networks, much as it did throughout 2022, with ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS and SEC Network all appearing among the top 25 networks by TV ad impressions from December 26-January 1.
• Continued winter storms around the country fueled another week of The Weather Channel in our ranking, at No. 25 (down from No. 18 the previous week in the lead-up to holiday travel).
• The Wheel and Sunday Night Football pace a week-over-week increase for NBC, from 9.78% to 10.74% of TV ad impressions; the network accounted for 11.83% of TV ad impressions in 2022 (No. 3 overall).

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of January 10-16, showcasing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 19 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

The NFL retains its dominance over TV viewer attention, scoring 10.36% of all watch-time from January 10-16 courtesy of five playoff games on Saturday and Sunday. And that’s despite the league shifting the final wild card round game (the Los Angeles Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals) to a weeknight kickoff on January 17.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

CBS airing two NFL playoff games – Saturday’s Buffalo Bills win over the New England Patriots, and Sunday’s San Francisco 49ers victory over the Dallas Cowboys – helped the network land atop our most-watched ranking for the week, with 10.04% of watch-time.

Also: Fox Is Selling 2023 Super Bowl Spots as Sports Ad Market Heats Up

More insights around the most-watched networks from January 10-16:

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

The NFL playoffs are always a TV ad impressions draw, and it was no different for Wild Card Weekend 2022, as the five games delivered 19.7% of all impressions from January 10-16.

More data about the top programs by TV ad impressions during the week:

Airing football games of some sort definitely serves as an advantage in our ad-impressions-by-network ranking for January 10-16, as eight of the top 25 networks aired an NFL playoff game, part of the College Football Playoff National Championship simulcast, or both.

Additional insights around the top networks by impressions from the week:

■

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of December 27-January 2, showcasing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

As the new year starts, college football takes its place in the spotlight on TV. The sport leads the way by watch-time compared to other TV programming, while individual College Football Playoff games (the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl) also rocket toward wins for minutes watched, despite lopsided on-field results.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• ESPN’s wall-to-wall coverage of college football’s biggest games means five of the top 12 programs by watch-time were related to college football.
• Family Guy marathons on Disney-owned FXX led to a leap from No. 40 to No. 8 by minutes watched week-over-week.
• Yellowstone’s season finale fueled a climb to No. 20 by watch-time (versus No. 46 the previous week).
• Lifetime scored with Castle re-airs, accounting for 0.55% of minutes watched on TV from December 27-January 2.

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day college football action fueled ESPN’s rise to No. 1 as the most-watched network of the week. The cable sports giant gobbled up nearly 10.2% of watch-time thanks in large part to its exclusive airing of the “New Year’s Six” bowl games.

More insights around the most-watched networks from December 27-January 2:

• Paramount Network rockets up to No. 10 by watch-time on the week thanks to Yellowstone’s much-buzzed-about season finale.
• Hallmark Channel shows staying power even after Christmas, sitting at No. 7 by minutes watched from December 27-January 2 (versus No. 6 the previous week).
• HGTV soars to No. 9 by watch-time on the week, as the new year inspires a focus on new projects around the house.
• Comedy Central cashed in on The Office re-airs to climb from No. 38 to to No. 25 week-over-week by minutes watched.

Also: Fox Is Selling 2023 Super Bowl Spots as Sports Ad Market Heats Up

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

College football hurdles into first-place on the week, with over 8.1 billion TV ad impressions delivered from December 27-January 2, largely attributable to the College Football Playoff and other premier bowl games during the week.

More data about the top programs by TV ad impressions during the week:

• For the first time since the regular season started, the NFL dips to No. 2 by impressions — though still accounts for nearly 5 billion on the week.
• New Year’s Eve programming delivered impressions across a variety of networks, including three different entries among the top 25 in our rankings.
• Football (college and NFL) also served up impressions away from the primary airings; three alternative viewings around college football bowl games combined for nearly 2 billion TV ad impressions, while Fox’s NFL postgame show, The OT, contributed nearly 330 million impressions.
• Day-time soap operas provided large impressions numbers even during the holidays, with three (The Young and the Restless, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital) appearing among the top 25 by impressions this week.

Despite various simulcasts around the College Football Playoff, ESPN still leads the way in our ad-impressions-by-network ranking for December 27-January 2, with over 8.6 billion.

Additional insights around the top networks by impressions from the week:

• Speaking of simulcasts, ESPN’s other networks were beneficiaries, with ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNEWS all appearing among the top 15 networks by TV ad impressions after airing alternative feeds from the weekend’s biggest college football bowl games.
• Paramount Network sits at No. 16 by impressions courtesy of, yes, Yellowstone’s season finale.
• With winter storms looming, Weather Channel slings up to No. 18 by TV ad impressions on the week.
• While the NFL led the way for CBS, with over 20% of impressions, the network’s Nashville-based New Year’s Eve special accounted for 10% of CBS’s impressions for the week.

■

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of Dec. 13-19, showcasing the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Vizio’s Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, Vizio’s TV data product with glass-level insights from a panel of more than 17 million active and opted-in smart TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

Despite COVID-related changes to the game schedule, the National Football League continues to lead the way by watch-time compared to other TV programming. From Dec. 13-19, NFL games accounted for 7.05% of total minutes watched, which is an increase from 5.86% the previous week.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• The start of college football’s bowl games propel the sport to No. 2 on this week’s list, with 1.59% of minutes watched.
• The Voice finals fuel a watch-time jump from No. 23 to No. 11 week-over-week for the show.
• Syndicated airings of comedy-drama Las Vegas on E! drive the show all the way up to No. 16 by watch-time (after not appearing among the top 50 programs the previous week).
• Powered in part by the return of Tiger Woods, the PNC Championship drives PGA Tour Champions to No. 14 by minutes watched on the week.

Also: Holiday 2021 TV Premiere Dates

Fox ascends to No. 1 as the most-watched network of the week, with 7.28% of watch-time (up from 5.70% the previous week). Sunday’s NFL doubleheader fuels a lot of that, especially with a rivalry game like the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants leading the 1 p.m. ET kickoff slot.

More insights around the most-watched networks from Dec. 13-19:

• Hallmark Channel’s Christmas movies continue to power increased watch-time, with the network moving up to No. 6 by minutes watched on the week.
• TBS leans heavily into Friends re-airs as always, though Marvel movies (coinciding with the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home in theaters) also fuel a climb from No. 18 to No. 14 by watch-time.
• NFL Network shoots up from No. 48 to No. 22 thanks to Saturday’s Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots game.
• Paramount Network increases week-over-week watch-time (from 1.16% to 1.30%) via Yellowstone and the premiere of prequel series 1883.

Also: Fox Is Selling 2023 Super Bowl Spots as Sports Ad Market Heats Up

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. Rankings are by TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

NFL games reign supreme once again, delivering more than 8.2 billion TV ad impressions during the week of Dec. 13-19 to lead all programs.

More data about the top programs by TV ad impressions during the week:

• College football’s bowl season began, and with it came a return to higher ad impressions for the sport – with 1.4 billion between eight bowl matchups and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoff games from Dec. 13-19.
• The Voice finals served up over 672 million TV ad impressions for NBC, which is No. 7 among all programs for the week.
• Survivor’s two-part closer to season 41 resulted in nearly 479 million impressions for CBS (No. 15 overall).
• The PGA Tour Champions’ PNC Championship is No. 24 by impressions on the week courtesy of a tight battle between golf legends John Daly and Tiger Woods, and their sons.

CBS stays atop our ad-impressions-by-network ranking for Dec. 13-19, with nearly 15% delivered by Sunday’s NFL action, and another 10.2% coming from The Young and the Restless.

Additional insights around the top networks by impressions from the week:

• NFL Network’s Saturday airing of the Colts-Patriots game accounted for 60.3% of its TV ad impressions for the week.
• Yellowstone and 1883 delivered nearly 60% of Paramount Network ad impressions for the week, creating a formidable Sunday-night block for the cable channel – though a temporary one, with 1883 becoming a Paramount Plus exclusive.
• Hallmark’s ‘Tis the Season To Be Merry is the top new holiday programming for the network, with the premiere airing serving 30% of Hallmark’s weekly impressions.
• News is on the rise given concerns around the new COVID variant and the budget bill, as Fox News (No. 5), MSNBC (No. 8) and CNN (No. 9) are all top 10 networks by impressions, with all three delivering at least 1.87 billion on the week.

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Tv networks, led by ESPN, will televise more than 40 college football bowl games over the next month as the sport counts down to its National Championship game on Jan. 10.

ESPN will televise the lion’s share of games, beginning December 17 with the Bahamas Bowl featuring Middle Tennessee and Toledo. The network will also carry the December 31 College Football Playoffs semi-finals games between top-ranked Alabama and fourth-ranked Cincinnati, as well as second-ranked Michigan and third-ranked Georgia. The winners will play in the College Football National Championship game Jan. 10 on ESPN.

Below is a list of the major 2021-22 college football bowl games:* 

Bahamas Bowl (Middle Tennessee-Toledo) – ESPN

Cure Bowl (Northern Illinois-Coastal Carolina) – ESPN2

Boca Raton Bowl (Appalachian State-Western Kentucky) – ESPN

Celebration Bowl (Jackson State-South Carolina State) – ABC 

New Mexico Bowl (Fresno State-UTEP) – ESPN

Independence Bowl (BYU-UAB) – ABC 

LendingTree Bowl (Eastern Michigan-Liberty) – ESPN

LA Bowl (Oregon State-Utah State) – ABC

New Orleans Bowl (Louisiana-Marshall) – ESPN 

Myrtle Beach Bowl (Tulsa-Old Dominion) – ESPN

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Kent State-Wyoming) – ESPN

Frisco Bowl (San Diego State-UTSA) – ESPN

Armed Forces Bowl (Missouri-Army) – ESPN

Frisco Football Classic (Miami (Ohio)-North Texas) – ESPN

Hawaii Bowl (Memphis-Hawaii) – ESPN

Camellia Bowl (Ball State-Georgia State) – ESPN

Quick Lane Bowl (Western Michigan-Nevada) – ESPN

Birmingham Bowl (Houston-Auburn) – ESPN 

First Responder Bowl (Air Force-Louisville) – ESPN

Liberty Bowl (Texas Tech-Mississippi State) – ESPN

Holiday Bowl (NC State-UCLA) – Fox 

Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Minnesota-West Virginia) – ESPN

Fenway Bowl (Virginia-SMU) – ESPN

Pinstripe Bowl (Virginia Tech-Maryland) – ESPN

Cheez-It Bowl (Clemson-Iowa State) – ESPN

Alamo Bowl (Oregon-Oklahoma) – ESPN

Duke's Mayo Bowl (North Carolina-South Carolina) – ESPN

Music City Bowl (Tennessee-Purdue) – ESPN

Peach Bowl (Michigan State-Pittsburgh) – ESPN

Las Vegas Bowl (Wisconsin-Arizona State) – ESPN

Gator Bowl (Wake Forest-Texas A&M) - ESPN

Sun Bowl (Washington State-Miami (FL)) – CBS 

Arizona Bowl (Central Michigan-Boise State) – Barstool Sports 

Cotton Bowl Classic (Alabama-Cincinnati) – ESPN

Orange Bowl (Michigan-Georgia) – ESPN 

Outback Bowl (Arkansas-Penn State) – ESPN2

Citrus Bowl (Iowa-Kentucky) – ABC 

Fiesta Bowl (Notre Dame-Oklahoma State) – ESPN

Rose Bowl (Ohio State-Utah) – ESPN

Sugar Bowl (Baylor-Ole Miss) – ESPN

Texas Bowl (Kansas State-LSU) – ESPN

College Football Playoff National Championship Game

8 p.m. --  ESPN

*--NCAA.com

ESPN’s College Football Playoff National Championship telecast carried the sports network to a primetime win last week, according to Nielsen.

ESPN averaged 3.3 million viewers during the week of Jan. 11 to Jan. 17 to top all cable networks, said Nielsen. The network’s Jan. 11 Alabama-Ohio State telecast was the most watched sports/entertainment show for the week, averaging more than 18 million viewers. That number was markedly down compared to the 25 million viewers that tuned into the LSU-Clemson CFP National Championship game in January 2020, said Nielsen. 

The three major cable news networks finished in the next three spots, led by CNN’s 3.1 million viewers, followed by MSNBC’s 2.8 million viewers and Fox News’ 2.4 million watchers. HGTV finished fifth for the week with 1 million viewers.

Hallmark Channel (944,000), TLC (877,000), History (862,000), Discovery Channel (807,000) and TBS (782,000) all rounded out the top 10 most watched networks in primetime.

CNN averaged 2.1 million viewers on a total day basis to win the category for the second straight week, followed by MSNBC, Fox News, ESPN and HGTV, according to Nielsen.

College football set its New Year’s Day playoff lineup this weekend as more post season bowl games were cancelled due to concerns revolving around the pandemic.

Top-ranked Alabama will face fourth-ranked Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl and second-ranked Clemson will battle third-ranked Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. The winners will play in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 11. ESPN will air all three games.

The weekend playoffs announcement comes as several other college bowl games were cancelled, as a number of teams from major conferences have chosen not to play in the postseason due to concerns surrounding the pandemic.

ESPN Events Sunday cancelled the upcoming TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl, one of 16 post season college football bowl games now canceled. Currently, 28 bowl games are scheduled to be played beginning tonight (Dec. 21) with the Myrtle Beach Bowl featuring North Texas against Appalachian State.

“We have made the difficult decision to cancel the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl,” said Mark Meadows, executive director in a statement. “As the inventory of available teams lessened, our ability to stage the game was compromised. We will direct our focus to next year’s bowl, and look forward to staging the game in the 2021 season.”

Capital One has signed up as the presenting sponsor of the 107th Rose Bowl game, which will air on ESPN as part of the College Football Playoff on Jan. 1.

Capital One replaces last year’s sponsor Northwestern Mutual. The credit card company is also the title sponsor of the Orange Bowl.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

This year’s college football season has been disrupted by COVID-19, with many games delayed or canceled. But ESPN and its sponsors are hoping most bowl games survive and that “The Granddaddy of Them All” gets played and attracts a big audience.

Also Read: ESPN Cancels Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl

“We’re honored to be presenting sponsor of the 107th Rose Bowl and cheer on two great teams in this highly anticipated game,” said Marc Mentry, chief brand officer at Capital One. “Being a part of the Rose Bowl, especially when it is host to a College Football Playoff semifinal game, is a special opportunity for us to connect with fans around one of America’s most storied sporting events. While this year’s game will certainly look different than most, sports continues to be a great unifier and bright spot.”

Capital One has been a college football sponsor since 2001, when it presented the Capital One Bowl. It has been the Capital One Orange Bowl sponsor since 2014.

"The Rose Bowl Game’s rich tradition makes it one of the most celebrated events of the year and one of the most-viewed games on the sports calendar,” said Rita Ferro, president, Disney Advertising Sales. “We’re excited to extend our long-standing relationship with Capital One with this year’s Rose Bowl, which promises to be even more special as host of a College Football Playoff Semifinal."

ESPN dramatic Georgia-Oklahoma Rose Bowl telecast led what were huge social media numbers for college football bowl games on New Year’s Day. 

Georgia’s double overtime win over Oklahoma to secure a spot in the College Playoff championship game generated 8.5 million Facebook and Twitter interactions to top all TV shows airing on Jan. 1, according to Nielsen’s Social Content Ratings Daily report.

ESPN’s Alabama-Clemson Sugar Bowl telecast drew 5.2 million social media interactions. Alabama defeated last year’s champion Clemson to advance to the College Playoff Championship game for the third straight year.

ESPN’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (3.1 million social media interactions), ESPN2’s Outback Bowl (1.6 million) and ABC’s Citrus Bowl (1.1 million) rounded out the top five. 

On the entertainment front, USA’s WWE Monday Night Raw was the most social show for the day, drawing 545,000 Facebook and Twitter interactions, according to Nielsen.

Continued subscriber losses at its flagship ESPN sports network coupled with fewer college football games in the period helped drag overall fiscal first quarter results at The Walt Disney Co.

ESPN lost subscribers in the period, continuing a trend that has weighed heavily on the company. Coupled with the change in timing of the College Football Playoffs – only three CFP bowl games were aired in the period, vs. 6 in the same period last year – and revenue at the Cable Networks division dipped 2% to $4.4 billion. Operating income at Cable Networks fell 11% $864 million from $975 million in the prior year.

Broadcast revenue was flat at $1.8 billion and operating income increased 28% to $379 million.

Parks and Resorts was the bright spot, with revenue up 6% and operating income increasing 13% in the period.

Overall revenue at Disney was down 3% to $14.8 billion and operating income fell 7% to $4 billion. Net income declined 14% to $2.5 billion.

“We’re very pleased with our financial performance in the first quarter. Our Parks and Resorts delivered excellent results and, coming off a record year, our Studio had three global hits including our first billion-dollar film of fiscal 2017, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” said Disney chairman and CEO Bob Igerin a statement. “With our proven strategy and unparalleled collection of brands and franchises, we are extremely confident in our ability to continue to drive significant value over the long term.”

The inaugural College Football Playoff Championship has engendered hopes for glory and programming opportunities for the networks with teams in the game on Monday night.

Pac-12 Networks, whose national service and one of its sub-regional, covers the Oregon Ducks, and Big Ten Network, which presents game and related fare around the Ohio State Buckeyes, are gearing up for the Jan. 12 battle at AT&T Stadium.

Pac-12 Networks, which aired a new installment of Pac-12 Football Weekly on Jan. 6, in which Rick Neuheisel and Yogi Roth break down the matchup and reports from Eugene throughout the week, has established a dedicated microsite within Pac-12.com, with coverage from Saturday’s media in Dallas, plus additional videos and written content.

The programmer will kick off a preview special on Sunday at 7 p.m. (PT). The 60-minute Win the Day: National Championship Preview features host Mike Yam and analysts Curtis Conway and Neuheisel offering a look at the Ducks’ road to Dallas and what it will take for Oregon to bring home its first national title in football. Additionally, Ashley Adamson will be on the scene in Big D, giving viewers an up close look at the atmosphere.

On Monday, Adamson, former Oregon defensive coordinator Nick Aliotti and Jill Savage are live from the field in Dallas with Yam, Neuheisel and Conway in San Francisco for the College Football Playoff Championship Pregame Show, Presented by GameFly, beginning at 4 p.m..(PT). The 60-minute pregame show will include a live interview with Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott, plus other notable guests on site in Dallas. Additionally, Aliotti, Neuheisel and Conway will give viewers the final word before kick on who will win and why.   

Immediately following the game, the group returns for a 90-minute College Football Playoff Championship Postgame Report, Presented by GameFly featuring highlights, live interviews from the field, postgame press conference sound and analysis of the game.

All shows and specials will air live across all seven linear networks and online at Pac-12.com and on the Pac-12 Now app.

For its part, Big Ten Network is also going big with title tilt coverage. On Saturday, Jan. 10 at 4:30 p.m.(ET), BTN Finale sets up shop at the Dallas Convention Center with Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo, Howard Griffith and Glen Mason. The show will also air at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.

BTN has secured the rights to the 2015 Allstate Sugar Bowl, and will give its subscribers to relive Ohio State’s upset over top-ranked Alabama on Jan. 1. ESPN's telecast of the exciting contest garnered the largest audience in cable history.

 At 5 p.m. on Sunday, the service will serve up the Football Championship Preview Show, with the crew dissecting the matchup and keys. The show will originate from AT&T Stadium, with the BTN set located on the plaza outside of Gate H.

Monday is all about THE Ohio State. BTN’s “Buckeye Block” encompasses replays of key matchups past: the 2010 Rose Bowl against Oregon at 8 a.m.. and condensed versions of Football in 60 will feature the squad in games from the 2014 season versus Penn State at 10 a.m, followed on the hour by Michigan State, Minnesota and Michigan.

BTN will then devote two hours to OSU’s demolition of Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game at 2 p.m. and another 2015 Sugar Bowl reprise at 4 p.m.

BTN Live, with segments from Dallas, rolls at 6 p.m., leading into the Football Championship Pregame Show, which will also include a pair of one-on-one interviews from earlier in the week in with Sugar Bowl MVP Ezekiel Elliot, and offensive coordinator Ed Warinner.

Guests on the show will include Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, and former Buckeye standouts Eddie George, Troy Smith, Beanie Wells, Troy Smith, Mike Doss and Bobby Carpenter, among others.

The BTN game plan calls for Football Championship Halftime Show and Football Championship Postgame Show at the appropriate times.

After claiming its first ever full-year primetime crown in 2014, ESPN kicked off the 2015 Nielsen year in better fashion, earning the top weekly and most-watched day performances in its 35-year history.

Lifted by the record-setting results for the inaugural College Football Playoff semifinals -- the two largest audiences in cable history -- and its initial NFL playoff game, ESPN averaged 4.12 million watchers in total-day from Dec. 29, 2014 through Jan. 4, according to Nielsen data. In primetime, the worldwide leader averaged 8.72 million watchers.

The deliveries were fueled by the semifinals doubleheader on Jan. 1: ESPN's coverage of Ohio State's upset of top-ranked Alabama averaged 28.3 million watchers in the nightcap and became cable's all-time show, breaking the 28.2 million mark set hours before with its presentation of Oregon's demolition of defending champion Florida State. 

ESPN also benefited from its first NFL postseason game, as 21.7 million tuned in Carolina's Wild Card win over Arizona in the late afternoon window on Jan. 3. The telecast now ranks as the sports giant's eighth biggest overall and second-best with the pro football league. 

Starting with SportsCenter and continuing with College GameDay,  the 9.09 million who saw Michigan State's stirring comeback versus Baylor in the 2015 Cotton Bowl,  and the semifinals, ESPN averaged 11.7 million watchers,  making Jan. 1 the most-viewed day in its history.

On ESPN2, the Outback Bowl, featuring No. 18 Wisconsin defeating No. 19 Auburn in overtime, averaged a 3.8 rating and 6.4 million viewers in the noon window on New Year's Day, the most-ever for a telecast on the service. Wisconsin-Auburn is currently the seventh most-viewed bowl game of 2014-15 season.

To date,  ESPN's 33 bowl games this season averaged 5.4 million viewers, up 4% over last year.  Those numbers will rise with its coverage of the championship game between Oregon and Ohio State on Jan. 12, when the worldwide leader could establish another cable ratings record.

The inaugural College Football Playoff system exploded on the Nielsen scene New Year’s Day, with the first semifinal becoming the largest telecast in cable history, before being supplanted by the second contest.

ESPN registered a 14.8 rating translating into 28.16 million viewers with its coverage of Oregon’s 59-20 romp of defending champion Florida State in the Rose Bowl, according to Nielsen data.

The Ducks’ demolition that ended the Seminoles’ 29-game winning streak overtook the BCS title game won by Auburn over Oregon on Jan. 10, 2011. The 27.3 million watchers for that contest had stood as the largest audience in cable TV history until yesterday.

Oregon-FSU’s reign was much shorter-lived.  The worldwide leader garnered a 15.2 rating and 28.27 million viewers for the second game of the doubleheader, as Ohio State upset top-ranked Alabama, 42-35 (pictured).

Both games generated significant increases over the ESPN bowl games in their respective Jan. 1, 2014 time slots: a 51% audience ascent from 18.6 million for last year’s Rose Bowl and a 150% surge from 11.3 million for the 2014 Sugar Bowl. The ratings rose 45% from a 10.2 and 130% from a 6.6, respectively.

“These record-setting numbers illustrate the enormous fan interest in college football and the wide-ranging appeal of the new College Football Playoff format,” said John Wildhack, ESPN executive vice president, programming and production. “We are excited to build upon this success when we showcase the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship on ESPN on January 12.”

On the digital side,  the College Football Playoff semifinal games logged an average of 864,000 unique viewers on WatchESPN, 42.4 million minutes viewed and an average minute audience of 187,000 per game – up 185%, 124% and 119%, respectively, compared to last year’s games in the time slots.

Ohio State-Alabama was the best Sugar Bowl ever across all metrics – 912,000 unique viewers (up 164% versus last year’s Sugar Bowl), 58.7 million minutes viewed (ahead 173 %) and an average minute audience of 256,000  (181% growth). The Sugar Bowl now ranks as the best college football game ever on WatchESPN based on unique viewers and minutes viewed. 

Despite technical issues during the first half of Oregon-Florida State, WatchESPN recorded its best Rose Bowl ever based on unique viewers, a 212% gain to  816,000,; second best ever with minutes viewed, 26.2 million, up 59%; and average minute audience a 47% jump to 116,000.

The average New Year’s Six game live on WatchESPN attracted 505,000 unique viewers, 26.2 million minutes viewed and an average minute audience of 118,000 – up 229%, 214% and 198%, respectively, compared to the same dates last year.  Compared to the four non-championship BCS games last year, the average New Year’s Six game grew 85% among unique viewers, 55% in minutes viewed and 57% in average minute audience.

The New Year’s Six – the six bowl games, three on New Year’s Eve and three on New Year’s Day, that are part of the new College Football Playoff – posted an increase of 78% in viewership compared to the same six time slots last year.  The six contests averaged 14.7 million viewers, up from 8.27 million. 

In addition to the two semifinals, ESPN's presentation of the New Year’s Day’s Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic  -- Michigan State's 42-41 win over Baylor in the waning seconds -- at 12:30 p.m. increased viewership for the time slot 67% to 9.09 million from 5.44 million.  The rating rose 63% to 5.2 from 3.2.

Rankings of all sorts seem to be an American passion, and when it comes to college football, perhaps “obsession” is a better word. And maybe this season -- with the advent of the new College Football Playoff (CFP) system – we will be able to crown an “indisputable” #1 championship team. (But don’t count on it.)

But rankings or no rankings, college football bowl games around the holiday season are a special treat for millions of sports fans who will tune primarily to ESPN for at least 30 different games, culminating in the January 12, 2015 CFP National Championship to be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Great sporting events have always been a staple of ad-supported cable television, and make no mistake about it… ESPN is the “stapler”. Last season, ESPN televised 29 college bowl games, which on average collectively achieved a robust 3.6 U.S. HH rating (6.7 Share). That’s a 16% increase in ratings (23% share increase) over the very high viewership levels of the prior Bowl Season! (1)

And, if we isolate the major bowl games from last season, the audience-drawing power of these games is in full view. The 2014 Vizio BCS National Championship game achieved a 13.0 U.S. HH Rating (19.1 Share). The next two highest rated bowl games: the Rose Bowl (9.5 rating / 14.8 share); and the Allstate Sugar Bowl (9.0 rating / 13.9 share). (2)

Local Viamedia advertisers – especially those seeking to reach men – can’t seem to get enough of college football Bowl Games. Across the 44 Viamedia markets in which local advertisers invested in Bowl Games over the past two seasons, we have seen a dramatic (+40%) increase in the number of :30 spots,  +9,800 last Bowl Season (2013/14), versus 7,052 prior Bowl Season (2012/13).  (3)

Over the past two seasons, nearly 600 local cable clients have invested in college football bowl games, with nearly one-third of them appearing in both years, and raising their advertising commitments (on average) by +12%.

When it comes to local advertisers on college bowl games, it all comes down to three words: cars, money and food. The automotive category captures the lion’s share of local cable ad dollars – 58%, followed by financial services (10%) and restaurants (5%). Throw in retail/department stores and you’ve got three-quarters of all local dollars associated with just four advertising categories. (see pie chart above).

This year, the first Bowl games on ESPN begin on December 20. Typically, the first wave of games are considered “minor” bowl games (but don’t tell that to the fans and graduates of the participating schools.) And, then, after Christmas ESPN hits the “trifecta” airing three bowl games a day through the first of the year, 2015. That’s when the playoffs start, culminating in the January 12 College Football Championship Game.

Will this final game decide which team is “truly” #1 in the hearts and minds of college football fans across the nation? Maybe… or, maybe not (especially for Baylor and TCU fans whose teams just missed out on the new college football playoff system). But one thing is certain: Practically every serious college football fan in America will be watching!

1. Source: Viamedia analysis of Rentrak TV Essentials Data (Telecast Summary Report) for ESPN (Sports/Performance genre) for the months of December & January 2012/13 and 2013/14. Ratings and shares are Viamedia time-duration weighted estimates based upon 28 Bowl Games in 2012/13 and 29 Bowl Games in 2013/14. Viewing estimates are for only original live airings (no repeats).
2. Source: Viamedia analysis of Rentrak TV Essentials Data (Telecast Summary Report) for ESPN (Sports/Performance genre) for the month of December & January 2013/14. For the Top3 highest rated Bowl Games. Viewing estimates are for only original live airings (no repeats).
3. Source: Viamedia internal analysis of Sports & High Profile Tracker data for “College Bowl Games” for the months of December & January (2012/13 vs 2013/14) across the 44 Viamedia markets in which local advertisers invested in Bowl Games over the past two seasons. Note: Excludes all zero dollar spots. Includes 266 spots on ESPN2 in 2012/13 and 410 spots on ESPN2 and ESPNU in 2013/14.

The homepage on Dish Network’s website touted the fact that it would be carrying the SEC Network weeks before the freshman service’s Aug. 14 launch date, heralding its arrival and using it as a marketing tool to attract potential new subscribers.

That satellite-TV provider Dish would devote nearly half of its home page to the SEC Network speaks volumes about the influence and popularity of the preeminent football conference in all of college athletics. It also serves as a not-so-subtle reminder of how ESPN, which owns and operates the SEC Network and shares profits with the Southeastern Conference, remains an monolith on the television sports landscape, casting a shadow over the competition in its never-ending quest to dominate the business.

ESPN marked its 35th anniversary this past Sunday (Sept. 7). Earlier this summer, the network bid farewell to its coverage of the FIFA World Cup by providing comprehensive coverage of the tournament from Brazil that broke ratings records. It is also winding down its coverage of the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series this fall.

The worldwide leader is continuing to push its WatchESPN suite of products and will usher in the new college-football playoff format, a system that marks the first change in how a major sport decides its championship since Super Bowl I, and one that could break all-time cable-audience marks.

LOW-KEY MILESTONE

But ESPN isn’t airing any big television specials or series to commemorate the occasion, as was the case when the programmer turned 25 and then 30. ESPN president John Skipper pointed toward a more low-key celebration to mark the event.

“I’m sure we’ll have some sort of [internal] town hall thing and people will talk about it,” Skipper said. “It is right around the time of the employee picnic, so I think it will be an internal situation. There won’t be any program initiative. Our sense is that it matters to us internally. It’s more important as a business story, but we’re more excited about the start of football season.”

Why shouldn’t Skipper be pumped? The lengths to which Dish went to promote the launch of the SEC Network shows how excited the satellite-TV provider is to team with college football’s most powerful conference and the sport’s biggest player.

With all major distributors except Cablevision Systems on board (as of press time), the SEC Network counts more than 62 million subscribers and is available to more than 95 million homes, making it one of the largest network launches in cable history.

Launching the SEC Network is in line with ESPN’s approach to new ventures. It hasn’t shied away from trying new things, like the WatchESPN initiative that launched a few years ago. The app platform is now available to some 75 million homes across the nation.

“Our goal, and I tell people I’m tired of hearing it internally, is that I want to do the very dynamic thing and I want to be the leader in risk-taking and innovation,” Skipper said. “Those are usually two things that don’t go hand in hand when you are the company leader, looking to protect [what you have]. The insurgents look to do more of the new stuff and risk-taking. We want to take that away and say we are doing more.

“I don’t see us as being 35 [years old],” Skipper added. “We refuse to grow up and mature. We want to keep innovating and taking the risks.”

It’s a bit easier to take risks, though, when you have the foundation that ESPN has. It has been an industry leader in presenting college sports, not just football, for decades and has been just as impactful in its coverage of the National Football Leauge, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball.

Fox Sports I launched a year ago and was predicted by many to become “the next big thing” in sports broadcasting. A year later, though, FS1 is still struggling to find its footing in a landscape saturated with all sorts of never-ending sports programming. NBC Sports has its own cable network, and CBS Sports does, too. Throw in the fact that MLB and the NFL, NBA and NHL all have league-specific networks, and it has become increasingly difficult to make an impactful splash.

That’s what makes the launch of the SEC Network such an intriguing venture. A network dedicated to a collegiate conference is not a new idea. The Pac-12 and Big Ten each have their own networks, and ESPN has the Longhorn Network for the University of Texas.

“I think the ratings for the SEC Network outside the [SEC] territory are going to shock people,” Skipper said. “It’s not going to be in just the 11 SEC states. That makes no sense.”

ESPN, however, does not have complete control over the conference’s programming. CBS, which has a longterm deal with the SEC that goes through 2023, gets the first choice of which games will be televised each week on what has been the highest-rated college football package on any network in the last five years.

“They are accurate when they say that they have a deal with the SEC where they get the pick every week,” Skipper said. “They get the top pick, subject to some limitations, so they can’t pick Alabama every week. They have a good game from the SEC every week, but the good news is that we’ll have three or four good games every week and another three or four on the other ESPN networks. So I’m happy with our position. We do what we do, and they do what they do.”

The SEC Network also has some familiar faces. Veteran play-by-play man Brent Musberger will be joined by Jesse Palmer as the lead team calling the games. Tim Tebow, Greg McElroy and Marcus Spears are analysts on its SEC Nation studio show, hosted by Joe Tessitore.

FAMILIAR FACES

“Our goal is to produce a very high-quality conference network,” Skipper said. “The Big Ten and Pac-12 do good jobs, but our model is the ESPN networks. When we put the Longhorn Network on air there were challenges in distribution because of lack of games. But everyone is impressed with the quality of production, studio shows, programming, etc. If we’re looking to emulate anything, it will be ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU.

“I see more similarity to those networks than anyone else,” he added. “And we’ll have a higher volume of live games. What we are emulating, though, is the fact that we have Brent Musberger and Jesse Palmer.”

During the first four weeks of the season the SEC Network is broadcasting one game involving every school and will be at each of the conference’s 14 stadiums. The network will air more than football, though. It expects to broadcast 160 basketball games, nearly 100 baseball games and 50 softball games as well as volleyball and soccer matches.

Collecting a reported $1.40 per subscriber in monthly fees within the Southeastern Conference’s 11-state footprint and 25 cents beyond those boundaries, ESPN has added more green to its coffers and those of parent, The Walt Disney Co.

It should all make for an interesting viewing and what should be a great way to mark ESPN’s 35th anniversary. Keeping the content on its flagship networks fresh and lively may prove to be a challenge at times, but ESPN has done well in terms of breaking new ground.

FOCUS ON QUALITY

“We want to keep things fresh by making everything high-quality,” Skipper said. “We launched [Bill “The Sports Guy” Simmons-helmed website] Grantland, which is long-form sports journalism; FiveThirtyEight [the website helmed by political statistics guru Nate Silver], a push forward for data and numbers in sports; and the 30 for 30 series.

“We can’t fight saturation but we’re producing more content than ever. We’re living in a world with more content than ever.”

Part of that content was the WatchESPN initiative for mobile devices. According to Skipper, 44 million minutes of World Cup soccer was “consumed” on WatchESPN.

World Cup records were not limited to digital. The 2014 event was the most-viewed World Cup ever on English-language TV in the U.S. Buoyed by ESPN’s record 18.2 million for the U.S.-Portugal “Group of Death” match and the 17.3 million who saw Germany lift the trophy with its 1-0 win over Argentina on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and the broadcaster averaged 4.56 million viewers for the 64 matches. Viewership was up 39% and 96%, respectively, over the 3.27 million in 2010 and 2.32 million from Germany in 2006.

The 2014 World Cup marked the end of ESPN’s run with the world’s most popular sporting event. The programmer is still on the pitch, though, with a new deal with Major League Soccer, the U.S. men’s national team and Euro 2016, among other futbol properties.

“We remain committed to the growth of soccer, and our presentation of the World Cup clearly demonstrated that,” Skipper said.

Improving on the WatchESPN experience, whether it’s via the SEC Network, Sunday Night Baseball or cable’s top franchise, Monday Night Football, remains a priority for Skipper moving forward.

“Watch ESPN is going to be increasingly important,” Skipper said. “Mobile devices are rapidly overtaking desktop computers, and we have to be there. I could suggest that the 35-year era has been the pay television era. Going forward, pay television is still critical but it’s a more complicated landscape, and we have to make sure that we are playing in those complicated places.

“If you download the [WatchESPN] app and authenticate it, it is a fabulous experience,” Skipper continued. “The part that I’m not satisfied with is that it’s still hard to do. The service is fabulous and the quality is great. We just have to get it to more people.”

With the latest rollouts, the product of expanded carriage renewals inked as part of far-reaching deals Disney struck earlier this summer, the WatchESPN suite of services became available to subscribers of Mediacom Communications, Suddenlink Communications, the National Cable Television Cooperative and the National Telco Television Consortium last week, increasing its roster to 75 million homes.

DirecTV is the only major provider that doesn’t have a contract to supply the WatchESPN products.

Adding more WatchESPN subs by year-end would be a big plus for the network. ESPN will televise the College Football Playoff — a 12-year, $5.6 billion deal gives it media rights through 2026 — as well as a majority of the bowl games played.

All told, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, ABC, broadband portal ESPN, the SEC Network, the Longhorn Network, ESPN Radio and highlights service Goal Line will present more than 450 college-football games during the 2014 regular season, which will then culminate in the bowls and the inaugural College Football Playoff, featuring a pair of semifinal contests with the winners meeting at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to crown a new champion.

Many expect the playoff games to challenge, if not surpass, the 27 million who watched Auburn top Oregon in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, the most-watched telecast in cable history.

“Few events are more meaningful than these games,” Skipper said. “This represents a seminal moment in college football and we could not be more pleased to be a part of it.”

It’s also another way ESPN has tried to stay ahead of the competition.

“We have to continue to serve the fan,” Skipper said. “We have to take into account that the fan wants instantaneous highlights and they can do it on any mobile device. We were the first network where you could watch live games on your iPhone, iPad and desktop. You have to find new ways to create business.”

Finding new ways to create hasn’t been much of a problem for the all-sports network. It has been the industry standard for 35 years. Based on Skipper’s vision and what the network has been able to accomplish so far, the next 35 years should be just as exciting and innovative.