2 major TV networks join hands for 12-team college football playoff coverage next season: REPORTS

The 2024 College Football season will bring many changes. Alongside conference realignment, the biggest change that will be seen in the 2024 season will be the expanded college football playoffs.

The CFP will feature 12 teams from this season instead of the earlier four-team format. But that is not the only change the playoffs will have this year. On Wednesday, ESPN (the main broadcaster for the CFP) announced a partnership with TNT Sports.

"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," TNT Sports CEO Luis Silberwasser said about the deal.

Under the deal, ESPN will grant TNT Sports the rights to broadcast select games in the early stages of the 12-team playoff.

In both 2024 and 2025, TNT Sports will broadcast two of the first-round games. From 2026 until the five-year deal ends in 2029, TNT Sports will be given two quarter-final matchups.

The rest of the games will be broadcast by ESPN. This includes the two semi-final bowl games and the national championship game, as they have done since 2014.

However, starting with the 2027 national championship game, ABC (which sometimes simulcasts ESPN broadcasts as they are owned by the same company) will show the game. This will mean that the national championship game will be shown on linear TV for the first time since the 2010 game.

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The 12 team College Football Playoff format explained

The format for the 12 team College Football Playoff may be a little bit confusing for those unfamiliar with these kinds of brackets.

The four championships of the Power 4 conferences (SEC, BIG Ten, ACC, and Big 12) will not only get an automatic spot in the playoff, but they will also get a bye into the second round.

The conference championship of at least one Group of Five conference will also be given an automatic spot in the playoffs. They could receive the first-round bye if they are ranked higher than at least one of the Power 4 divisional champions.

The other seven teams will be chosen by the committee. They, alongside the one guaranteed group of five schools, will then be seeded 5-12 and will play in the first round.

The fifth seed will play the 12th seed, the sixth will face the 11th, the seventh seed plays the 10th, and 8th plays 9th. These games will be held at the higher seeds' home stadium.

The winners of the first round advance to the quarter-finals. This round, alongside the semi-finals, will be held as the New Year Six bowls, changing on a rotating basis.

This format will conclude with the National Championship Game, which will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on January 20, 2025.