New 12-team format debuts December 20-21 with four First Round games
The College Football Playoff (CFP) has announced dates, kick times and broadcast information for the 2024-25 playoff, the first year of the expanded 12-team format.
The exclusive home of the CFP since its inception in 2015, ESPN has expanded its current package through the 2025-26 season, adding all four games of the new CFP First Round each year to ESPN's existing New Year's Six games (now Playoff Quarterfinals and Playoff Semifinals) and the CFP National Championship. In May, ESPN announced a five-year agreement with TNT Sports to sublicense select College Football Playoff (CFP) games beginning with the upcoming college football season.
The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff will begin with the first CFP First Round game on Friday, December 20 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN. First round action will continue on Saturday, December 21, as TNT Sports will present games at noon and 4 p.m., while ABC and ESPN will broadcast the third-game of Saturday's triple-header at 8 p.m. Each of the four first round games will be played on campuses to be announced on Selection Day, December 8.
ESPN will present each of the four Playoff Quarterfinals, the two Playoff Semifinals and the 2025 CFP National Championship, slated for Monday, January 20 at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium. This marks the first time the CFP National Championship has returned to a city for a second game, after Atlanta hosted the title contest in 2018.
The CFP has contributed to the most-watched days in ESPN's nearly 45-year history, led by the first Playoff Semifinals in 2014-15 boosting ESPN to 11.6 million average viewers for New Year's Day. The Playoff Semifinals in 2018, 2022 and 2024 anchored ESPN in rounding out the top four complete-day audiences in network history. College football on ESPN accounts for the top 15 and more than 50 of the top 100 most-watched cable programs on record (since 1987), with eight of the top 10 directly from Playoff Semifinals or national championship games.
In 2023-24, ESPN's expansive coverage of the 10th CFP delivered a record year. The three-game CFP scored its most-watched matchups in six years (since Year 4) and third-best of the CFP era with 23.6 million viewers and 15 percent year-over-year audience growth across the trio of games. The CFP National Championship and New Year's Six averaged 15.1 million viewers, the best audience in five years and fifth-highest in the 10-year history of the CFP, up double digits year-over-year.
2024-25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE
| DATE | GAME | TIME (ET) | PLATFORM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri., Dec. 20 | CFP First Round Game | 8 p.m. | ABC & ESPN |
| Sat., Dec. 21 | CFP First Round Game | Noon | TNT |
| CFP First Round Game | 4 p.m. | TNT | |
| CFP First Round Game | 8 p.m. | ABC & ESPN | |
| Tue., Dec. 31 | Playoff Quarterfinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Wed., Jan. 1 | Playoff Quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl | 1 p.m. | ESPN |
| Playoff Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential | 5 p.m. | ESPN | |
| Playoff Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl | 8:45 p.m. | ESPN | |
| Thu., Jan. 9 | Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Fri., Jan. 10 | Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
| Mon., Jan. 20 | CFP National Championship (Atlanta, Ga.) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
Schedules are subject to change. Additional scheduling details, including megacast plans and talent assignments, match-ups and host sites for the CFP First Round games on campus, will be announced at a later date.
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About the College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is the event that crowns the national champion in college football. The CFP Selection Committee ranks the top 25 teams at the end of the season. For the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the 12 playoff participants consist of the five highest ranked conference champions, plus the next seven highest ranked teams. The four highest ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and receive a first-round bye. The schools seeded five through eight will host those seeded nine through 12 in first-round games. The quarterfinals and semifinals rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. This year's quarterfinals will take place on December 31, 2024 and January 1, 2025, while the semifinals will be January 9-10, 2025. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, January 20, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. For additional information on the College Football Playoff, visit CollegeFootballPlayoff.com.
About ESPN
ESPN, the world's leading multiplatform sports entertainment brand, features eight U.S. television networks, the leading sports app, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, leading social and digital platforms, ESPN.com, ESPN Audio, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.
About TNT Sports
TNT Sports is a global leader in the delivery of premium sports content. The TNT Sports U.S. portfolio includes expansive, multi-platform partnerships with the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship, National Hockey League and United States Soccer Federation. Owned and operated platforms are highlighted by Bleacher Report, the #1 digital destination for young sports fans, along with House of Highlights, HighlightHER, Golf Digest, and a full suite of digital and social portfolio brands. Additionally, TNT Sports co-manages NBA Digital — comprised of NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE Pass, the NBA App and NBAGLEAGUE.com — as well as NCAA.com and NCAA March Madness Live. TNT Sports in Europe and the Republic of Ireland includes partnerships with the NBA, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UFC, WWE and more, as well as much-loved brands Eurosport, Global Cycling Network (GCN), Global Mountain Bike Network (GMBN) and multi-sport programming and content on discovery+ and Discovery's free-to-air TV networks.
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