Subscribe
Follow Us
The semi-finals of the College Football Playoffs was a ratings hit this season for Disney and Fox Sports seeming wants in action. Per Front Office Sports reporter Michael McCarthy, Fox Sports is looking to snatch some or all of the College Football Playoffs broadcasting rights to bolster its already expansive Big Noon Kickoff College Football Coverage.
Fox Sports is weighing a “massive” bid to potentially snatch all or parts of the College Football Playoff away from ESPN, sources told FOS.
After likely passing up on NBA rights, CEO Lachlan Murdoch is building a war chest for other rights talks.@MMcCarthyREV‘s story ⬇️
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) January 3, 2024
“I’m hearing that Fox Sports is weighing a ‘massive' bid to snatch all or parts of the College Football Playoff away from ESPN,” McCarthy wrote in his latest piece. “The strategy would make sense for Fox. The network’s Big Noon Kickoff pregame show has closed the TV ratings gap against ESPN’s iconic College GameDay. And Fox’s gambit to place its top games in the noon Saturday window, rather than in primetime, has proven to be a brilliant programming stroke by the company’s head of strategy and analytics, Mike Mulvihill.”
McCarthy signals in his piece that Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch's pass on the pursuit of NBA rights is a signal that the company is corralling its money together to make a major play for other lucrative sports media rights but also learned from a source that Fox Sports isn't expected to overpay.
A Fox Sports play for a piece of the College Football Playoffs action would make a lot of sense, as the field of teams vying for the championship will expand from four teams to twelve teams starting in the 2024 season. More games mean expanded opportunities for other broadcast players such as Fox Sports, CBS, and NBC to participate in the ratings goldmine.
The future of the College Football Playoff broadcasting rights will surely be of interest to college football fans as it could possibly raise the stakes, and the money pot, for the expanded postseason tournament for years to come.
