In landing a sublicense deal for early-round College Football Playoff games over the next five years, TNT Sports apparently pulled a page out of "The Godfather" -- making ESPN an offer it couldn't refuse.
The capability to sublicense such games was part of ESPN's six-year extension with the CFP -- a deal worth a reported $1.3 billion that runs through the 2031-2032 seasons. But ESPN Chair Jimmy Pitaro says that the company "did not have any intention" of sublicensing any games in the newly expanded playoff -- at least until the new deal kicks in two seasons from now -- but Warner Bros. Discovery made a "very attractive" financial offer.
"We recognize that we’re all operating in a challenging environment with cord-cutting and the competition for sports rights, so we decided to maintain some financial flexibility here," said Pitaro.
That led to TNT Sports locking down two first-round games this year and next year, with two quarterfinal games added on once the new rights agreement kicks in. "We took a step back and asked ourselves, ‘Was this better or worse for college football?’ And we ultimately decided that [WBD] putting their networks behind these games would be a net positive," Pitaro said.
ESPN will still produce the games broadcast on TNT, while ESPN talent will also staff those contests. "Not a bad thing from a morale perspective," said Pitaro. “Our folks were incredibly excited that we were able to maintain the rights to the College Football Playoffs, and now with the sublicense, this is a healthy, smart business move.”
Leaning into college sports
In addition to the CFP deal, ESPN kicked off 2024 with a new, exclusive eight-year deal for 40 NCAA championships -- something the company prioritized for its portfolio. “College is a huge part of the DNA of ESPN, and the NCAA championship deal was incredibly important to us,” said Pitaro.
The pact includes the women’s basketball tournament (and was signed before the record-breaking numbers from this year's March Madness mayhem surrounding Caitlin Clark). The new deal with ESPN values the tournament at around $65 million annually, with the overall deal worth an average of $115 million annually.
"The team at the NCAA understood our commitment to college sports in general, and they understood the value that they get from ESPN," said Pitaro. "I don't want to speak for them, but I believe they felt like it made the most sense for them to stick exclusively with us. ... Even beyond the women's basketball tournament, the Women's College World Series was just so fantastic this year. The Men's College World Series also [had] incredible ratings. Gymnastics, volleyball, lacrosse -- all of it is up and to the right."
