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Afternoon Edition

December 20, 2024

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Friday night marks the dawn of a new era in college football, as Notre Dame hosts Indiana in the first round of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. The action continues Saturday, with three more first-round matchups set to shape the road to Atlanta. What makes these games historic, and how are networks and fans adapting to this inaugural format? We break it down.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]]

New College Football Playoff Era Begins Under Friday Night Lights [[link removed]]

South Bend Tribune

The first 12-team College Football Playoff is finally here.

More than two years after CFP expansion was green-lit for 2024 [[link removed]], Notre Dame will host Indiana on Friday night in the first of four first-round Playoff games to officially kick off college football’s new postseason tournament.

Beyond being the first game in the CFP’s 12-team era, Friday night’s game is historic on several other fronts, too:

Indiana–Notre Dame is the first CFP game played on a school’s campus, which is creating some unique logistical circumstances [[link removed]]. ABC and ESPN, which are simulcasting the matchup, are becoming the first non-NBC networks since 1990 [[link removed]] to broadcast a Fighting Irish home game. South Bend, Ind., is also hosting the first leg of what ESPN believes are the first back-to-back editions of College GameDay [[link removed]], which will be in Columbus on Saturday morning.

Fans in South Bend woke up Friday morning to a snow-covered Notre Dame Stadium [[link removed]], but weather forecasts don’t call for more snow ahead of kickoff at 8 p.m. ET.

High Drama and Big Business

The expanded CFP created dramatic off-field storylines all season long, and the 12-team bracket’s long-awaited reveal two weekends ago created some big business for all parties involved:

The Big Ten topped all other conferences with four CFP bids [[link removed]] (worth at least $20 million in guaranteed payouts), followed by three for the SEC ($16 million) and two for the ACC ($8 million). Controversy surrounded SMU’s entry and Alabama’s snub [[link removed]], while Boise State became the first Group of 5 school to reach the CFP [[link removed]], and two former Pac-12 schools earned first-round byes [[link removed]]. Amid debate over the strength of schedules, the 12 CFP teams paid at least $26.9 million for regular-season matchups [[link removed]] with Group of 5 and FCS teams. TNT Sports is set to broadcast its first CFP games [[link removed]], which will go head-to-head with two nationally televised NFL matchups [[link removed]].

After this weekend’s first-round games, the Playoff’s quarterfinals and semis will play out across the New Year’s Six bowls—college football’s most historic and traditional games [[link removed]]. The CFP national championship game will take place in Atlanta on Jan. 20, which is the latest date the game has ever been played.

Netflix Keeps Expanding Live Sports Lineup—Now Women’s World Cup [[link removed]]

Sipa USA-Imagn Images

Netflix’s surprise deal for exclusive U.S. media rights to the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cups, announced Friday morning, marks yet another advancement of the streamer’s live sports strategy.

Pending any further expansion of the Women’s World Cup (which grew from 24 to 32 teams in 2023), Netflix will stream a total of 128 matches across the next two monthlong tournaments.

That’s new territory for the technology giant, which once suggested it was interested in only one-off, special-edition events [[link removed]].

This is the third major multiyear live sports deal in Netflix’s portfolio, which now includes:

FIFA Women’s World Cup: 2027 and 2031 editions [[link removed]] NFL: Three-year deal for Christmas Day games [[link removed]], starting next week WWE: 10-year, $5 billion deal for Raw, the promotion’s flagship weekly show, beginning in January [[link removed]]

Of course, there was also last month’s Jake Paul–Mike Tyson fight, which Netflix claimed set a streaming record [[link removed]] with an estimated average minute audience of 108 million live global viewers.

Lights, Camera, Action

The streamer’s first live sports event came in November 2023, when the The Netflix Cup [[link removed]] paired PGA Tour stars from Full Swing with Formula One drivers from Drive to Survive. In March, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz faced off in a special tennis match, The Netflix Slam [[link removed]].

When the NBA was negotiating its new set of media deals, Netflix reportedly explored acquiring the rights to the league’s in-season tournament [[link removed]], which has since been rebranded to the Emirates NBA Cup.

Beyond live sports, Netflix continues to expand its sports docuseries portfolio. This week, it announced a new series around the SEC, and released a trailer for its Jerry Jones doc, America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys. The streamer also has series around the NBA and NFL, in addition to its F1 and PGA Tour shows, among others.

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Hoosier State Playoff Battle

Notre Dame [[link removed]] and Indiana [[link removed]] share a state, but are about to play each other for the first time since 1991. The stakes are incredibly high.

Freezing temperatures and the possibility of snow are not enough to deter fans from this College Football Playoff game. According to TickPick [[link removed]], it is the most expensive first-round CFP matchup, with an average purchase price of $790. The inaugural game of the 12-team bracket is also the most expensive Notre Dame home game on record, as Irish fans hope to see their team off to New Orleans to face Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

For more ticketing trends and insights surrounding NFL and college football, check out our Big Ticket Trend Report [[link removed]], presented by TickPick, and get $15 off your first purchase [[link removed]] of $99+ with code FOS15.

Can Fox Find Success in Return to Golf—Now With LIV? [[link removed]]

Matt Marton-Imagn Images

It looks like Fox will be making another attempt at broadcasting professional golf in 2025.

A source confirmed to Front Office Sports that the network is closing in on a media-rights deal with LIV Golf, which has been looking for a new U.S. TV partner after two seasons on The CW. Fox’s discussions with LIV were first reported by Sports Business Journal [[link removed]].

This would be Fox’s first golf deal since it opted out of its $1.1 billion USGA contract in 2020—just five years into the 12-year pact. Fox is still paying more than half of that annual $93 million rights fee for the U.S. Open and all other USGA events, while NBC, which now holds those rights, is paying the rest.

The final round of the last U.S. Open on Fox in 2019 averaged 7.31 million viewers in prime time from Pebble Beach. That was the network’s highest golf rating. Joe Buck led the golf coverage for Fox, which pushed boundaries as an early adopter of several now-staples of golf on TV like shot tracers.

Back in the late 1990s, Fox made a bid for PGA Tour rights that ultimately failed. Between 1996 and 2001, Fox had a roughly one-third equity stake in the Golf Channel, which simulcast early-round PGA Tour coverage on some Fox regional sports networks.

Changing Clubs

The CW’s LIV deal was revenue-sharing only, but Fox will pay LIV a “modest rights fee,” according to Puck News [[link removed]], and both its main broadcast network and cable channels like FS1 and FS2.

Sports agency CAA, which also works with the PGA Tour, has been helping LIV in its latest media-rights search [[link removed]]. Another TV suitor that emerged along the way was TNT Sports, which broadcast this week’s “Crypto.com Showdown” [[link removed]] featuring LIV’s Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka against the PGA Tour’s Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler.

TUNED IN

Amazon’s NFL Lineup Sparks TV Network Tensions

TV network executives are voicing growing frustration over what they see as the NFL’s preferential treatment of Amazon Prime Video, writes Michael McCarthy. As Prime’s Thursday Night Football schedule improves, rivals worry the league is creating an incentive for tech giants like Amazon, as well as its rivals, to bid on rights in 2029, when the NFL can opt out of its media-rights deals. “The NFL has slanted so far in the direction of [Prime], it’s not even funny,” an executive at a network that airs NFL games told Front Office Sports.

McCarthy breaks down the brewing tension and what it means. Read the full story here. [[link removed]]

You can also subscribe to our new “Tuned In” sports media newsletter, which would arrive in your inbox twice weekly, right here [[link removed]].

STATUS REPORT One Up, Two Down, One Push

Georgia ⬇ Quarterback Carson Beck is now expected to miss the Sugar Bowl [[link removed]] on Jan. 1, when the Bulldogs will face the winner of Friday night’s Notre Dame–Indiana game. Beck was injured during the SEC championship game, which drew a conference-title-game-high 16.6 million viewers [[link removed]] on ABC.

NBC ⬆ Tiger Woods is playing in his first professional tournament since the Open Championship in July this weekend, as he tees it up with his son, Charlie, in the PNC Championship. NBC has live coverage of Sunday’s final round, while Peacock will stream Saturday’s round.

Texas A&M ⬇ The Aggies will be without several key starters for their Las Vegas Bowl matchup with USC, as multiple players have opted out [[link removed]] to prepare for the 2025 NFL Draft.

Cowboys ⬆⬇ Star pass rusher Micah Parsons, who is seeking a new contract extension, said he doesn’t need a $40 million annual salary [[link removed]], which would make him the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. But Parsons wouldn’t reveal exactly how much of a discount he would be willing to take to stay in Dallas.

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The Tech Behind New Live Viewing Era

We are witnessing a sports broadcast revolution. The emerging alt-cast trend is creating unlimited ways to bring live games to viewers.

So, what do you need to know?

Broadcasters are already all-in. This weekend NBC Sports will blend live action and video game elements from EA Sports’ Madden NFL franchise [[link removed]]. A few weeks ago TNT Sports, with NBA 2K and Genius Sports, presented their NBA 2K25 DataCast [[link removed]].

For sponsors, it creates an entirely new ad inventory. Dynamic ads and personalized messages can be seamlessly overlayed during key moments—like showing a product during a winning play—creating deeper emotional connections.

It’s made possible by AI and optical tracking. Genius Sports’ augmentation technology transforms live gameplay in real time, paving the way for every fan to get a completely personalized experience.

Discover more here [[link removed]].

Conversation Starters ESPN’s College GameDay totaled 30 million viewers in 2024 [[link removed]]—the most-watched regular season in the show’s 38-year history. CFP home games this weekend will have a unique feel. Check out [[link removed]] how they will differ from regular-season matchups. Shaquille O’Neal transformed from a $300 million NBA superstar into a $500 million–plus business mogul with smart investments, endorsements, and a diverse empire. Watch the latest episode [[link removed]] of FOS Explains to learn more. Editors’ Picks Charles Barkley, JJ Redick, Magic Johnson Weigh In on NBA Ratings Decline [[link removed]]by Alex Schiffer [[link removed]]Adam Silver wasn’t ready to blame the threes, but others have. Mike Lombardi on Belichick UNC Job: ‘Bill Wanted This Opportunity’ [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]]“Nobody thought he would actually do it,” Lombardi said of his colleague. Spending Bill Fiasco Keeps RFK Stadium Bill Hopes Alive [[link removed]]by A.J. Perez [[link removed]]NFL pressure could be “best hope” to revive RFK Stadium bill. Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Podcast [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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