A highly anticipated showdown on The CW sees the No. 5 Miami Hurricanes taking on No. 18 South Florida. The Bulls are coming off a massive win over Florida last week, an upset that set the stage for a Week 3 Top 25 showdown.
The Bulls have back-to-back ranked victories as they look to make it three straight. With plenty of key games to keep an eye on, it’s worth noting just how much money college football fans have to spend to watch every single game.
The Rising Cost of Being a College Football Fan
Media rights have taken over the world as subscription services and national outlets are doing whatever they can to secure the biggest games of the week. Never before has The CW, a channel that has mostly been carrying Pac-12 and Mountain West games this season, seen a game of this magnitude.
Ultimately, though, they are one of 24 channels or services on which college football games can be watched during Week 3.
Dennis Dodd, a former writer for CBS Sports, took to social media to break down all of the networks. He took his information directly from NCAA.com, as a massive list was revealed, breaking down the true cost of being a college football fan.
FYI, to watch all the FBS games today you’d need …
ABC⁰FOX
CBS⁰CBSSN ⁰ESPN ⁰ESPN2 ⁰ESPN+
SECN+ ⁰ESPNU ⁰FS1 ⁰Paramount+ ⁰Peacock ⁰HBO Max ⁰YouTube
truTV ⁰TNT ⁰Spectrum Sports
Big Ten Network ⁰SEC Network ⁰SECN+ ⁰ACC Network ⁰Mountain West Network ⁰The CW…— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) September 13, 2025
First, it begins with the major networks. An antenna is one of the easiest ways to view over-the-air channels, including ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and The CW. From there, things get interesting. There are plenty of major games on ABC and FOX, but most college football fans don’t want to settle for just the marquee matchups.
ESPN+ features select games at $11.99 a month. The new ESPN Unlimited plan costs $29.99 a month but allows fans to view games on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, SECN+, and the ACC Network.
Three other subscription services are necessary if a college football fan doesn’t want to miss a second of the action.
Paramount+ and Peacock Premium both start at $7.99 a month. CBS and NBC run those services, respectively. HBO Max is slightly more expensive, starting at $9.99 a month. FOX One can be used for Big 10 games, though it has a high pricetag of $19.99 per month.
College Football Predictions Week 3: Projecting Every Single Game Including Georgia vs. Tennessee
Live TV streaming services are beginning to take over the world. A large majority of the world has begun to cut cable, though the price of cable doesn’t look too bad anymore when comparing all of these subscription services.
Some of these streaming options include Fubo Pro at $84.99 a month, Hulu + Live TV at $76.99 a month, YouTube TV at $72.99 a month, and DirecTV MySports at $69.99 a month.
The problem is that fans must choose their priorities. Not every streaming service includes every channel needed to watch all of the games. Fubo offers fans the most channels, while DirecTV MySports includes ESPN+, and Hulu + Live TV includes the Disney+ bundle.
At the end of the day, the most efficient approach would be to select Fubo Pro ($84.99) as your base since it includes the majority of college football channels, then add ESPN Unlimited ($29.99), Peacock ($7.99), and Paramount+ ($7.99) for complete coverage, totaling approximately $131/month.
