The CW wants more College Football Playoff games if the field grows to 24

The CW wants a piece of the College Football Playoff. Michael Perman, the network's senior vice president of sports, told Front Office Sports this week that The CW would be interested in sublicensing more CFP games from ESPN if the playoff expands to 24 teams as expected.

"Yes, the CFP is interesting. There's a lot of games; it's a lot of money," Perman said. "But we'd definitely be interested in doing more, or talking to ESPN, potentially about that."

How the games could open up

ESPN holds the CFP's media rights. Under the 12-team format, it sublicenses five games to TNT Sports: two first-round games, two quarterfinals and a semifinal. FOS reports TNT is in the third year of that five-season deal.

Expansion would add 12 games. Ross Dellenger of On3 reported last month that ESPN can sublicense up to six of those new games, and only to a single broadcaster. That inventory is made up of first- and second-round games, and some of it is likely to land on weekdays or run into NFL windows in December.

Why The CW fits

The CW already carries ACC, Pac-12 and Mountain West football, and in May it signed another sublicensing deal with ESPN for ACC football and men's and women's basketball through the 2030-31 season. Those games also stream on the ESPN app. The network reaches roughly 100 million U.S. homes and is the fifth English-language broadcast network after ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.

"I still think these leagues need linear distribution on a broadcast network," Perman said.

Perman also said The CW is watching rights now held by TNT Sports, which Skydance controls after its Warner Bros. Discovery deal. FOS pointed to TNT's MLB package, which runs through 2028, and its 10-year French Open deal.

What to watch

Expansion to 24 teams is expected but not final, and ESPN declined to comment to FOS. Nobody has said yet whether ESPN will sublicense any of the new games. Perman told FOS The CW is in the "final stages" of several negotiations and expects to announce new partners in the coming months. The network also wants more bowl games beyond the Poinsettia, Holiday and Arizona bowls it already airs.