ESPN’s Signature MegaCast Presentation Extends to Expanded 12-Team College Football Playoff – Multiple Viewing Options Across All Rounds

ESPN will present nearly a dozen total offerings during the two First Round primetime games of the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff on Friday, Dec. 20 (No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame) and Saturday, Dec. 21 (No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State), courtesy of ESPN’s signature CFP MegaCast production. The main telecast for both games will be presented on ESPN and ABC, with additional viewing options on ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS, SEC Network, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes and the ESPN App for one or both matchups. Additionally, the Saturday afternoon showdowns of No. 11 SMU at Penn State and No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas will be live on TNT, TBS, TruTV, Max (English and Spanish language broadcasts) and ESPN Radio.

Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show Leads MegaCast from Columbus
For the third consecutive season, the MegaCast fan favorite Field Pass returns to the College Football Playoff. Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show will offer entertaining, free-flowing commentary of the First Round game featuring No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State on ESPN2. Pat McAfee will anchor coverage and call the action while roaming the sidelines of Ohio Stadium. He will be joined by a rotation of ESPN analysts, notable personalities, and celebrities throughout the game. His regular The Pat McAfee Show crew of AJ Hawk, Darius Butler, Connor Campbell, Ty Schmit and Tone Digs ​are set to join McAfee in primetime from the sidelines of The Shoe.

Additional Alternate Presentations (all available on the ESPN App):

• Command Center (ESPN2 – Fri/ESPNU – Sat): A multi-angle presentation, which includes up to four different vantage points at any one time, with real-time player and team statistics supplementing the game action.
• SkyCast (ESPNEWS): The popular view from above the action and behind the offense on most plays. This unique angle has long been one of ESPN’s alternate viewing options and is readily available on multiple games every week. Replays will be shown every time the main telecast shows a replay, while never losing the look from SkyCam.

CFP Marching Bands on ESPN App
For the fourth consecutive year, the halftime marching band performances at the College Football Playoff will be available on the ESPN App. The sights and sounds of the Indiana University Marching Hundred, the Band of Fighting Irish, the Pride of the Southland Band and the Ohio State University Marching Band will be streaming live from their respective College Football Playoff First Round games via the All-22 view.

Commentators Set for First Round of On-Campus Clashes
In addition to ESPN’s multiple presentations, fans will be able to hear the call of the CFP First Round from a multitude of broadcast teams:

• Main Telecast (ESPN): ESPN’s top commentary team of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe alongside Marty Smith are on the call for No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State, while Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Molly McGrath and Katie George are teaming up for No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame.

• The ESPN crews that will call the First Round matchups on TNT Sports (TNT/TBS/TruTV/Max) include Mark Jones, Roddy Jones, Quint Kessenich and Tom Luginbill – No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State, and Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Taylor McGregor and Laura Rutledge – No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas.

• ESPN Radio (ESPN App): The broadcast for all four First Round games is available throughout the country on more than 400 ESPN Radio stations, the ESPN App, ESPNRadio.com, SiriusXM, Apple Music, iHeartRadio and TuneIn.

• • Indiana/Notre Dame: Mike Couzens, Max Starks, Alyssa Lang
  • SMU/Penn State: Bob Wischusen, Louis Riddick, Dawn Davenport
  • Clemson/Texas: Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb, Dana Boyle
  • Tennessee/Ohio State: Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer, Ian Fitzsimmons

• Hometown Audio (SEC Network): Tennessee fans can listen to the local radio broadcast of the Vols, with their audio feed synced up with ESPN’s SkyCast presentation on SEC Network. This MegaCast feed is made possible in conjunction with Vol Network Powered by LEARFIELD and showcases the voices of Bob Kesling, Pat Ryan, Brent Hubbs and Jayson Swain.
• Spanish Showcases (ESPN Deportes/ESPN App/Max): All four First Round games include Spanish-language calls featuring Eduardo Varela and Pablo Viruega (Indiana/Notre Dame – ESPN Deportes/ESPN App), Eitan Benezra and Alex Pombo (SMU/Penn State – Max), Eduardo Varela and Sebastian M. Christensen (Clemson/Texas – Max), and Ciro Procuna and Javier Trejo Garay (Tennessee/Ohio State – ESPN Deportes/ESPN App).

Inaugural CFP Bracket Challenge Presented by AT&T
For the first time ever, the College Football Playoff Bracket Challenge Presented by AT&T will give fans the chance to compete with friends, family and others by filling out CFP brackets as part of the expanded Playoff. Fans who pick the National Champion will be automatically entered into a random drawing to win $50,000 in total prizes. The College Football Playoff Bracket Challenge Presented by AT&T is open now on ESPN.com, ESPN App, and ESPN Fantasy App. Fans can complete and enter brackets until shortly before the first round kicks off on Dec. 20.

ESPN Marketing Activates for First Round Playoff Parties
The First Round of the CFP on campus brings all the pageantry, traditions, and tailgating of home games to the CFP. With two primetime games on ESPN platforms, ESPN is celebrating with fans on campus, taking over bars at Notre Dame and Ohio State from 4-11 p.m. in South Bend, Ind. (Friday, Dec. 20 – Linebacker Lounge) and Columbus, Ohio (Saturday, Dec. 21 – The Little Bar). Both destinations are less than a mile walk from their respective stadiums, historic staples in their towns, and are the perfect place for a Playoff Party. With free food, custom giveaways, raffles, a DJ and more, these are can’t-miss meetups before the new era of the CFP kicks off.

ESPN Original Inside the College Football Playoff Presented by Capital One Returns to ESPN+ on December 17 (Watch Trailer)
Expanded to five episodes this winter with an hourlong season premiere, Inside the College Football Playoff Presented by Capital One returns to ESPN+. Featuring behind-the-scenes access, as well as insights and commentary from Paul Finebaum, Rece Davis, Tim Tebow, Laura Rutledge, Booger McFarland, Heather Dinich, Greg McElroy, and Roman Harper, the ESPN Original series’ sixth season offers an inside look at the inaugural 12-team CFP as teams battle for the ultimate prize – a national championship.

The ESPN+ premiere schedule is detailed below. Episodes will also be available to stream on Disney+ and will re-air on ESPN and ESPN2 (dates to be determined).

• Episode 1 – December 17: The stage is set for the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. Re-live the incredible journeys of this year’s top teams and explore how college football evolved to this exciting new era.
• Episode 2 – December 27: Experience the excitement of an atmosphere unlike any other as the CFP First Round games take place on-campus for each of the four home teams.
• Episode 3 – January 7: All-access moments take you inside the preparations as the top four conference champions play their first game of the CFP in the Quarterfinals.
• Episode 4 – January 15: The path through the Playoff only gets harder as the stakes get higher with the four remaining teams battling for their place in the CFP National Championship.
• Episode 5 – January 24: Exclusive access provides a fresh look at the 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship. Tim Tebow reflects on the significance as players become legends.

ESPN and TSN Team Up to Bring Bowl Season to Big Screen
ESPN has extended its theatrical distribution agreement with Theater Sports Network (TSN) to present all 11 College Football Playoff (CFP) games, including all four CFP First Round games, the CFP Quarterfinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, the CFP Quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the CFP Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential, the CFP Quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the CFP Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl, the CFP Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, and the College Football Playoff National Championship. Cosm Los Angeles and Cosm Dallas are just two of the many theaters where games are available. To find your local listings, please visit TheaterSportsNetwork.com.

The exclusive home of the CFP since the event debuted in 2015, ESPN expanded its current package through the 2025-26 season and extended its rights agreement through the 2031-32 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 CFP games beginning this postseason.