The College Football Playoff (CFP), ESPN and TNT Sports have announced kick times and broadcast information for the 2025 CFP First Round, which will launch the second year of the 12-team Playoff.
“We are pleased to work with both ESPN and TNT Sports to deliver these first-round games to fans across the country in premier viewing windows,” said Rich Clark, executive director of the College Football Playoff. “We also appreciate the collaboration with the National Football League in coordinating schedules to best serve fans of both college and professional football. This all reflects the growing reach and excitement surrounding the new Playoff format, and we look forward to showcasing the best of college football on both networks.”
The 2025-26 edition of the 12-team College Football Playoff will begin with the first CFP First Round game on Friday, Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and ESPN. First round action will continue on Saturday, Dec. 20, as ABC and ESPN will broadcast the first game of Saturday’s tripleheader at noon ET, while TNT will present games at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. ET, respectively. All games on ESPN networks will be available on the ESPN App, while the first-round games airing on TNT and truTV will also be streamed on HBO Max. Each of the four first-round games will be played on campuses to be announced on Selection Day, Dec. 7.
In April, it was announced that ESPN will present each of the four Playoff Quarterfinals, the two Playoff Semifinals and the 2026 CFP National Championship, slated for Monday, Jan. 19, at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
The CFP National Championship returns to Miami for the first time since the 2021 contest, marking the second straight season the national championship game will return to a city for a second time, after Atlanta hosted the title contests in 2018 and 2025.
Last season, the inaugural CFP First Round delivered 10.6 million average viewers across ESPN networks and TNT Sports.
The quartet of Playoff Quarterfinals scored multi-year viewership highs, while the CFP Semifinals produced the most-watched Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on record (20.6M viewers) and the second-most-watched Capital One Orange Bowl in nearly 20 years (17.8M viewers). The 2025 CFP National Championship between Ohio State and Notre Dame attracted 22.1 million viewers, the most-watched non-NFL sporting event over the past year. The showdown peaked with 26.1 million viewers. ESPN reported.
