The College Football Playoff schedule was released on Tuesday, providing fans with kickoff times and TV channel information for every game of the postseason tournament, which will begin on Friday, Dec. 19. at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN and ABC.
However, the ongoing YouTube TV dispute casts a cloud over not just the schedule release, but also the College Football Playoff Rankings show, which begins this Tuesday.
Full Postseason Picture Confirmed With College Football Playoff Schedule Release
As per the schedule release, there will be a triple-header of first-round games on Saturday, Dec. 20. The first game will be broadcast on ABC and ESPN, while TNT will be responsible for showing the last two games at 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The location of the games will be announced on Selection Sunday on Dec. 7.
The games that will be shown on TNT will be available to stream on truTV and HBO Max, while the games shown on ESPN will be available to stream on the ESPN app.
However, the scheduling release came amid a Walt Disney-owned channel blackout by YouTube TV, which hit over 10 million subscribers who have not had access to college football, NBA, and NFL games since last week due to a licensing dispute.
If the dispute continues into the postseason, it could have significant repercussions for college football fans who are already faced with missing the College Football Playoff Rankings Show that heralds the start of the selection process for the postseason tournament.
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Ironically, during the announcement of the playoff schedules, the executive director of the CFP, Rich Clark, praised the collaboration between the various stakeholders to make the scheduling possible.
“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,” Rich Clark said.
“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.”
OFFICIAL RELEASE: The College Football Playoff, 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.
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— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) November 4, 2025
The CFP semifinals will be played on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9. The Fiesta Bowl will start the slate of games at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, while the Peach Bowl will be played at the same time the next day and will both be shown on ESPN.
The national championship game will be held at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium on Jan. 20, for the first time since 2021. The game will be broadcast on ESPN at 7:30 p.m.
The first college football playoff ranking will be released on Tuesday at 8 p.m.. It will be the first of five rankings to be released every Tuesday until Dec. 2. The final 12-team playoff field will be released at noon on Dec. 7 after the conference championship games have been played.