DISCLAIMER: This work was put together using data from
various sources. As such, if you come
across something that is inaccurate, please feel free to reach out to me to
correct it via email realcordcutters@outlook.com
or Twitter: @RealCordCutters or by
leaving a comment below. My goal is to
make a comprehensive and accurate guide that can help people quickly &
easily decide how to watch as much college football as they want for the
cheapest possible method. Unlike other
cord cutting websites, we welcome and encourage reader feedback, both positive
and negative. For updates, please
look for the ► sign (alt + 16 to type it) with a date following it; these
indicate changes, additions, corrections, etc.
First, I’m going to give a brief overview of the various
options that currently exist regarding CFB broadcasts including defining some
terms. Please note that this guide will
focus primarily on the Power 5 conferences (ACC, B1G, Big 12, Pac-12 &
SEC). If you’re already familiar with
these terms, services, etc. please feel free to jump down below to the
conferences section.
KEY TERMS TO
KNOW
Designated Market Area (DMA) – a geographic
region, defined by Nielsen Media Research that receives the same (or similar)
television stations. The DMA that you are
located in determines which local broadcast stations you receive, although
cable companies are free to carry channels from outside the DMA without any
type of waiver. To see a static map of all US
DMAs from 2015-16, click here or you can use enter an address into this dynamic, zoomable map here.
Regional & National Broadcasts – College
football games can either be a regional or national broadcast. A national broadcast shows one game over the
entire country on a given channel while a regional broadcast will have different
games showing on a given channel in different parts of the country. For most, but not all, regional broadcasts,
the game not shown on the primary channel is aired on an alternate TV channel. The most common example of a regional
broadcast is the 3:30 PM ET ABC/ESPN2 broadcast window. Some part of the country receives Game A on
ABC and Game B on ESPN2 while the rest of the country receives Game B on ABC
and Game A on ESPN2. Some of the
conference networks (BTN, SECN, etc.) also do this when there are multiple
games airing at the same time by using alternate overflow channels. When there is a regional broadcast and the
alternate game is not shown on another TV channel or the provider does not
carry the alternate channels, the extra game(s) will then be streamed online.
Tier 1/2/3 Media Rights – Tier 1 media rights generally
refer to games broadcast on over-the-air (OTA) broadcast networks such as FOX,
ABC, CBS, etc. Tier 2 media rights
generally refer to games aired on cable television stations such as ESPN/2, FOX
Sports 1, etc. Tier 3 media rights are
the rights to games that are institutionally controlled. The Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC control these
Tier 3 rights for all their member institutions and air these games on their respective
conference networks. The ACC has sold
these rights to Raycom for syndication but is re-purchasing them in advanced of
the launch of the ACC Network in 2019.
The Big 12 allows each member institution to control one home game and
the institution can then choose how & who to sell the broadcast rights to
that game to.
Regional Sports Networks – FOX (FOX Sports
<channel>), Comcast (NBC Sports <channel> and NBC Sports
<channel>), and AT&T (AT&T SportsNet <channel> own the most
common regional sports networks (RSNs) that air college football games. Currently, they air games featuring ACC &
Big 12 teams in addition to games featuring teams outside of the Power 5
conferences and FCS teams. The coverage
can vary by channel due to other programming commitments such as professional
baseball, basketball and hockey; thus, even if a game is designated to be
carried by FOX Sports RSNs, your local FOX Sports RSN may not carry it.
Conference Networks – Several conferences (Big
Ten, Pac-12, SEC) have created conference networks to exclusively air Tier 3
content in addition to other college sports programming. These conference networks vary in their
structure and also in the number of subscribers each has. The Big Ten conference launched the Big Ten
Network (BTN) back in 2007 while the Pac-12 started the Pac-12 Network (P12N)
in 2011 and the SEC started the SEC Network (SECN) in 2014. The ACC announced last summer that the ACC
Network (ACCN) will debut as a linear television channel in 2019.
TV CHANNELS
ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/ESPNEWS/ESPN GOAL LINE – The
Disney family of channels (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS) carry games multiple
days a week. In addition to Saturdays,
these stations also carry games on Thursday & Friday nights (most weeks),
Tuesday & Wednesday nights (usually only October-November) and the first
Sunday of the season. They also carry most
of the bowl games, including the College Football Playoff, except for a
handful. ESPN GOAL LINE runs only on
Saturdays and switches between various games on the ESPN networks similar to
how the Red Zone channel works for the NFL.
ESPN3 – ESPN3 is an online streaming channel that
airs many sporting events, including college football games, and does not
require login authentication. To view
ESPN3 events, one must either have a participating Internet Service Provider or
a cable/satellite/streaming service subscription which includes it though. For example, Sling TV & PlayStation Vue
both include ESPN3 access with their subscriptions. The list of ESPN3 participating providers can
be found here. All games aired on ABC in your region are also
available to watch online via ESPN3. ESPN3 also airs additional camera views
for important games although mostly for bowl and College Football Playoff (CFP)
games. For example, the most recent CFP
National Championship Game had 8 different feeds available on ESPN3 including
Sounds of the Game, Pylon Cam, Hometown Radio feeds, Spider Cam and others. Thus, some games that are aired on ESPN cable
channels can also be viewed via ESPN3 and do not require a subscription to
ESPN, ESPN2, etc. in order to watch them.
One other thing to be aware of regarding ESPN3 is that the WATCHESPN app
requires an ESPN video subscription (i.e. credentials) in order to view ESPN3
content via a connected device such as Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast, or
PlayStation 4. In other words, if you do
not have a subscription to a service that includes ESPN (but do have ESPN3
access through your ISP) and try to watch ESPN3 content through the WATCHESPN
app on a Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, etc., you will receive an error. The only way to watch ESPN3 content without
an ESPN video subscription is via a computer web browser (www.watchespn.com)
or the WATCHESPN app on mobile devices such as phones and tablets. For more information on this, please see here.
ESPN+ – ESPN+ is an online streaming service which launched in April 2018 and will air college football games from the Conference USA, the MAC, and Sun Belt. For more information on it, see the section on ESPN+ below under “STREAMING SERVICES”.
FOX/FOX SPORTS 1/FOX SPORTS 2 – FOX Sports carries
games on the FOX broadcast channel, FOX Sports 1 (FS1), and FOX Sports Regional
Sports Networks (for more information on these see Regional Sports Networks
below). Fox Sports 2 (FS2) traditionally
has only been used as an overflow channel when games run late but in 2017 it
aired 2 Big 12 games in their entirety. FS1
has games every Saturday, most Thursdays, and occasional Fridays. FOX generally has games on Saturdays only but
not every Saturday due to other sports commitments (NASCAR, MLB Playoffs, etc.). Two bowl games will be broadcast on FOX
channels for the 2018 season.
CBS/CBS SPORTS NETWORK – CBS Sports carries games
on both the CBS broadcast channel and CBS Sports Network (CBSSN). The CBS broadcast channel typically carries
one game involving an SEC team per week on Saturdays while also having several doubleheader
days where it carries two games. CBSSN
typically carries multiple games on Saturdays in addition to games on Thursdays
& Fridays most weeks. CBS will carry
one bowl game and CBSSN will carry two bowl games in 2018.
NBC/NBC SPORTS NETWORK – NBC Sports carries games
on the NBC broadcast channel, NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), and regional sports
networks such as NBC Sports (NBCS) <channel (for more information on these
see Regional Sports Networks below). NBC
usually only broadcasts Notre Dame home games on Saturdays while NBCSN carries
FCS games; it also broadcast one Notre Dame game in 2017 but does not have any
scheduled for 2018.
Regional Sports Networks – The two most common
types of Regional Sports Networks (RSNs) are FOX Sports RSNs and NBCS RSNs. There are also four RSNs owned by AT&T
called AT&T SportsNet <channel> and one RSN owned primarily by the
Seattle Mariners, Root Sports Northwest, that carry the FOX Sports RSN games,
in addition to some other games.
However, none of these channels are currently available on any national streaming
service. Additionally, some other RSNs
like NESN, Prime Ticket, SportsTime Ohio and MASN carry games as well.
Big Ten Network – BTN is a conference network
owned by FOX and the Big Ten Conference that airs programming from all sports
featuring Big Ten teams. It usually
shows 2-5 games featuring Big Ten teams each Saturday with occasional games on
the first Thursday & Friday of the season.
It owns the Tier 3 rights to all games that Big Ten teams “own” the
rights to. BTN Plus is online streaming
network offered by BTN for an additional cost but it does NOT air any CFB games
on it. BTN2GO is the website/app that
BTN uses to stream its content and BTN content is also able to be viewed via
Fox Sports Go app.
SEC Network – SECN is a conference network owned exclusively
by ESPN (Disney) which shows all sports of SEC teams. It usually airs 2-5 SEC games on Saturdays in
addition to games on the first Thursday & Friday of the season. SECN owns the Tier 3 rights to all games that
SEC teams have the rights to. SECN+ is
an online channel that airs extra events and can only be viewed with
authenticated credentials (i.e. it requires a subscription to SECN) via the
WATCHESPN/ESPN apps and the ESPN website.
SECN+ generally does not air any CFB games.
Pac-12 Network – P12N is a conference network
owned exclusively by the Pac-12 conferences that airs Pac-12 sporting
events. It usually shows 2-5 Pac-12
games on Saturdays only. P12N owns the Tier
3 rights to all games that Pac-12 teams own the rights to. The network has 1 national feed and 6
regional feeds (Arizona, Bay Area, Los Angeles, Mountain, Oregon, and
Washington) with each regional feed covering two teams. Most CFB games are aired on the national feed
and the regional feed(s) of the team(s) participating in the game.
ACC Network/ACC Network Extra – The linear ACCN cable
channel is scheduled to launch in 2019.
Currently, ACCN refers to ACC college football games that are syndicated
either via over-the-air (OTA) stations by Raycom or on RSNs, which are generally
FOX Sports RSNs plus some others. The
ACCN Game of the Week airs on OTA stations, is syndicated by Raycom, and starts
at 12:20 PM ET on Saturdays. Additionally,
the ACCN Game of the Week is streamed on the ACC’s website with no authentication
required.
There is also usually one RSN game aired each Saturday at various times, although several weeks two of these games are shown. The RSN games are also available outside of the airing markets on ACC Network Extra which is an online channel that can only be viewed with authenticated credentials (i.e. it requires a subscription to a service which has ESPN) via the WATCHESPN/ESPN apps or the ESPN website. What this means is that if a regional sports network in your DMA is airing the ACC game, you can only watch the game on that network; however, if there is no RSN airing the game within your DMA, then you are able to watch it online with proper ESPN-authenticated credentials via WATCHESPN. This is important to note because if the game is airing on an RSN that your service does not carry (ex. NESN, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, etc.), it means you will not be able to watch the game because you do not receive the station that is airing it in your market and it will be blacked out on WATCHESPN. ACC Network Extra begin in 2016 as before that all ACCN games were available via ESPN3 access outside of the local viewing area. ACC Network Extra also airs other sporting events for ACC teams that do not require authentication.
Longhorn Network –Longhorn Network (LHN) is an ESPN-owned network that focuses solely on University of Texas athletic events and programming. It generally airs two home Texas football games per year, one non-conference game and one conference game. The conference game also airs on additional platforms in the home market of the visiting conference team. It is generally carried as a regional, not national, channel by most providers and is streamed via the WATCHESPN/ESPN apps and the ESPN website.
There is also usually one RSN game aired each Saturday at various times, although several weeks two of these games are shown. The RSN games are also available outside of the airing markets on ACC Network Extra which is an online channel that can only be viewed with authenticated credentials (i.e. it requires a subscription to a service which has ESPN) via the WATCHESPN/ESPN apps or the ESPN website. What this means is that if a regional sports network in your DMA is airing the ACC game, you can only watch the game on that network; however, if there is no RSN airing the game within your DMA, then you are able to watch it online with proper ESPN-authenticated credentials via WATCHESPN. This is important to note because if the game is airing on an RSN that your service does not carry (ex. NESN, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, etc.), it means you will not be able to watch the game because you do not receive the station that is airing it in your market and it will be blacked out on WATCHESPN. ACC Network Extra begin in 2016 as before that all ACCN games were available via ESPN3 access outside of the local viewing area. ACC Network Extra also airs other sporting events for ACC teams that do not require authentication.
Longhorn Network –Longhorn Network (LHN) is an ESPN-owned network that focuses solely on University of Texas athletic events and programming. It generally airs two home Texas football games per year, one non-conference game and one conference game. The conference game also airs on additional platforms in the home market of the visiting conference team. It is generally carried as a regional, not national, channel by most providers and is streamed via the WATCHESPN/ESPN apps and the ESPN website.
Stadium – Stadium (STADIUM) is a 24/7 sports channel
which airs some games on multiple venues including free Twitter & Facebook
live streams and an OTA channel which was previously known as American Sports
Network. They carry games hosted by
Conference USA, Mountain West Conference, and Sun Belt Conference teams. The current list of OTA affiliates can be
found here
and the OTA channel can also be viewed on their website, FuboTV in the Sports Plus
add-on pack, Twitch, PlutoTV, and via their app which is available for Apple
& Android products (► 12/15/18) It is also
now on
PlayStation Vue on the Elite package & above in addition to both of Sling TV’s Sports Add-on packages (Blue &
Orange). Games airing on
Twitter can be viewed here, while
games airing on Facebook can be viewed here.
beIN SPORTS – beIN SPORTS is a group of sports
channels owned by Al Jazeera with both domestic and international
channels. The domestic channel, beIN
SPORTS USA (beIN), broadcasts some college football games of Conference USA. Games can be streamed on their website
and additionally via the beIN SPORTS CONNECT app.
TV Everywhere Apps – Many cable channels now have
a live stream of their channel available to watch online for authenticated
subscribers. ESPN makes all of its
programming, including ACCN, SECN, SECN+, LHN, ESPN3 & ESPN+ events, available
via the WATCHESPN and ESPN apps while FOX uses the FOX Sports Go app for FOX
broadcast channel sporting events & FOX Sports RSNs. BTN uses the BTN2GO app and the Fox Sports Go
app while P12N uses the Pac-12 Now app. CBS & CBSSN both streams their games
through the CBS Sports App (no authentication required for CBS games while
authentication is required for CBSSN). NBC
& NBCSN & NBCS RSNs all stream their content through the NBC Sports
App. STADIUM streams via the Stadium App
while beIN streams via the beIN SPORTS CONNECT app.
STREAMING
SERVICES
Sling TV
·
Plans:
o
Orange ($25/month), Orange Sports Add-on
($5/month)
o
Blue ($25/month), Blue Sports Add-on ($10/month)
o
Orange + Blue ($40/month), Orange + Blue +
Sports Add-on ($50/month)
·
Channels:
o
Orange - ESPN/ESPN2
o
Orange Sports Add-on - ESPNU,ESPNNEWS,ESPN GOAL
LINE,SECN,P12N*,beIN,STADIUM
o
Blue - FOX,FS1,FS2,NBC,NBCSN,NBCS RSN,FOX SPORTS
RSN
o
Blue Sports Add-on - P12N*/STADIUM/beIN
§
*P12N includes the 6 regional feeds only; the
national feed is not included
·
# of Streams: Orange (1 stream); Blue (3
streams)
·
Devices: Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV + most common
devices
Summary: Sling TV (Sling) is a decent option for college
football fans and still the cheapest way to get just the ESPN channels. Plus, it is the only service that carries
beIN, P12N, STADIUM and ESPN. However,
it doesn’t carry BTN or CBSSN (►
10/16/18 and also blacks out certain Big Ten games on FS1, see here
for more info) and while it’s Orange + Blue package ($40) is
similar in price to other services that doesn’t include networks such as ESPNU
or SECN. Plus, its coverage of local
channels is the smallest compared to the other services so if an antenna is feasible,
it’s best to look elsewhere if you need to see games on FOX or NBC. Lastly, the ESPN channels are limited to 1
simultaneous stream, which is the lowest of any service, although you can use
the WATCHESPN or ESPN apps to watch additional streams.
Best For: ACC/SEC/Pac-12
Fans, Conference USA Fans, People who can get OTA stations via antenna
Worst For: Big 10
Fans, Fans who cannot get their local OTA stations via antenna
PlayStation Vue
·
Plans:
o Access
($45/month), Core ($50/month), Sports Pack ($10/month), Elite ($60/month),
Ultra ($80/month)
§ PlayStation
Vue increased the price of all of their plans by $5/month effective 7/24/18
·
Channels:
o Access
- ABC,CBS,FOX,NBC,ESPN,ESPN2,FS1,FS2,NBCSN
o Core
- Access Channels + ESPNU,ESPNNEWS,SECN,BTN,CBSSN,LHN*,NBCS RSN,FOX SPORTS RSN
o Elite
– Core Channels + STADIUM
o Sports
Pack - Core Channels + ESPN GOAL LINE,LHN*
§ *LHN
is available on the Core plan within select in-market states; other states
require the Core plan + the Sports Pack add-on
·
# of Streams: 5 (3 at signup + 2 additional
available, in-home only, after a home device is set)
o Limited
to a max of one PS3, one PS4, and three mobile/web-based devices at all times
·
Devices: Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV + most common
devices
Summary: The price
increase that PlayStation Vue (Vue) instituted in July 2018 now makes it less
attractive to college football fans; the most desirable package, Core at
$50/month, is now $10/month more than comparable packages from Hulu &
YouTube TV, since those services base packages have the exact same networks as Vue except for LHN. The inclusion of LHN (those who are
out-of-market and want to receive it must order the Sports Pack as well,
bringing the total to $60/month) is one positive aspect of Vue in addition to
the fact that it offers the highest number of in-home streams (5), except for
Hulu + Unlimited Screens, which is an extra $15/month.
Best For: People
who want to have multiple (> 3) games playing at once, Texas Longhorn fans
Worst For: Fans
who are in a YouTube TV market, Pac-12 Fans
DIRECTV NOW
·
Plans:
o Live
a Little ($40/month), Just Right ($55/month), Go Big ($65/month), Gotta Have It
($75/month)
§ DIRECTV
NOW increased the price of all of their plans by $5/month effective 8/1/18
·
Channels:
o Live
a Little - ABC,CBS,FOX,NBC,ESPN,ESPN2,FS1,NBCSN
o Just
Right - Live a Little Channels + ESPNU,ESPNNEWS,SECN,BTN,LHN*,NBCS RSN,FOX
SPORTS RSN
§ *LHN
is only available in select markets
o Go
Big – Just Right Channels + CBSSN,FS2
·
# of Streams: 2 with the option of purchasing an
additional stream for $5/month
·
Devices: Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV + most common
devices
Summary: DIRECTV NOW’s (DTV NOW) price increase of July
2018 made it slightly less attractive because it’s most basic plan is now
priced identically to YouTube TV and Hulu but lacks many networks such as
ESPNU, BTN, FS2, SECN, and any local RSNs.
To receive those requires another $15/month ($55/month total), plus
CBSSN is on an even higher plan.
However, DTV NOW does offer LHN (in-market only) and does have a
$15/month credit available to AT&T Unlimited Data cell phone subscribers. Otherwise though, there’s nothing that makes
DTV NOW particularly compelling given its higher price, lower number of
streams, and lack of specialty channels (i.e. no P12N or beIN or STADIUM or
ESPN GOAL LINE).
Best For: Texas
Longhorn fans, AT&T Unlimited Data subscribers
Worst For: General
Fans, Fans who are in a YouTube TV market, Fans who want to watch multiple
games at once, Pac-12 Fans
Hulu Live
·
Plans:
o Base
Plan ($40/month) ($45/month starting 2/26/19)
·
Channels:
o ABC,CBS,FOX,NBC,ESPN,ESPN2,
ESPNU,ESPNNEWS,SECN,FS1,FS2,BTN,NBCSN, NBCS RSN,FOX SPORTS RSN,CBSSN
·
# of Streams:
o 2
with the option of purchasing “unlimited” streams for an extra $15/month $10/month starting 2/26/19
o Unlimited
streams includes unlimited streams at home and max 3 streams outside of home
·
Devices: Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV + most common
devices
Summary: Hulu Live is a very good choice for most college
football fans as it offers a wide range of channels at
the lowest base package price (►
1/26/19) at a slightly higher price point with its Feb 2019 $5/month price
increase. Additionally, it’s available on
Fire TV and several other devices on which YouTube TV currently isn’t. Thus, it
features the best overall combination of channels, available devices, and
price. The one main downside is the fact
that its base package only includes 2 streams although the option for
“unlimited streams” does exist. For
those who are not in a YouTube TV market, Hulu Live is the best option for
general college football fans.
Best For: General Fans who are not in a YouTube TV
market, ACC/B1G/B12/SEC Fans, Fans who want to watch multiple games at once
(for an extra fee)
Worst For: Pac-12
Fans
YouTube TV
·
Plans:
o Base
Plan ($40/month)
·
Channels:
o ABC,CBS,FOX,NBC,ESPN,ESPN2,
ESPNU,ESPNNEWS,SECN,FS1,FS2,BTN,NBCSN, NBCS RSN,FOX SPORTS RSN,CBSSN
·
# of Streams:
o 3
·
Devices: Roku, Apple TV (not Fire TV) + some
other devices
Summary: YouTube TV(YTTV) is another excellent choice for
most college football fans as it offers a wide range of channels at the lowest
base package price. Also, its DVR will
store programs for up to 9 months without any type of storage limit. However, it’s not available everywhere in the US (►
1/26/19) YTTV announced
on 1/23/19 that they expanded to 95 additional markets (195 total in the US)
with the remaining unsupported markets to be available in the coming
weeks. It is currently not available to
watch on Fire TV devices (Note: there are some workarounds to view it but most
are clunky and/or not fully 100% functional) and does not have the widespread
device availability that most of the other services offer, but still features a
good combination of channels and price. but still features a good combination of channels and price. It’s very similar to Hulu Live but its
unlimited DVR space and extra stream (3), compared to Hulu Live (2), may make
it a better option for some fans.
Best For: General Fans, ACC/B1G/B12/SEC Fans, Fans who
plan to record many hours of college football
Worst For: Pac-12
Fans, Fans who have Fire TVs
FuboTV
·
Plans:
o Base
Plan ($45/month), Extra Plan ($50/month), Sports Plus ($9/month)
·
Channels:
o Base
Plan - CBS,FOX,NBC,BTN,FS1,FS2,NBCSN,CBSSN,P12N*,NBCS RSN,FOX SPORTS RSN,beIN
§ The
Extra Plan has 15 additional channels compared to the Base Plan but none are
college football related
o Sports
Plus – Base Plan + STADIUM, P12N*
§ *The
P12N national feed is included with the Base Plan while the 6 regionals feeds
are included with the Sports Plus add-on
·
# of Streams: 2 with the option of purchasing an
additional stream (Family Share Add-On) for $6/month
·
Devices: Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV + most common devices
Summary: FuboTV is an overall poor choice for most
college football fans due to its lack of ESPN channels, since every single
conference has a tv deal with ESPN. However,
it is the only current streaming service that offers BTN & P12N so if you are
a fan of Big Ten and Pac-12 teams that
are frequently featured on their conference networks, it may be worth it. Also, it is the only service that carries all
of the non-ESPN partners for Conference USA (CBSSN, STADIUM, beIN) so if you’re
a fan of that conference, it may be worth it.
However, it’s lack of ESPN channels makes it virtually unusable for ACC
& SEC fans and its price ($45/month) coupled with only 2 streams, make it
probably the least desirable option for most fans.
Best For: Certain Big Ten & Pac-12 Fans, Conference
USA Fans, College Football Fans who have other sports interests (soccer)
Worst For: ACC/SEC
Fans
ESPN+
·
Plans:
o Base
Plan ($5/month or $50/year)
·
Channels:
o Base
Plan – ESPN+ only
·
# of Streams: 5
·
Devices: Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV + most common
devices
Summary: ESPN+ is brand new this year and will feature
games from Conference USA, the MAC, and Sun Belt. Although the cost of ESPN+ is relatively
modest, it is a bit disappointing that fans now to have pay to watch games that
were previously available via ESPN3, which is generally included with your ISP
and/or a cable/satellite tv subscription.
The only real reason to purchase an ESPN+ subscription is if you’re a
hardcore college football fan (not that there’s anything wrong with that), a
fan of one of the three specific conferences that will be on it, or there is
other content (MLS, etc.) that you’re already deciding to subscribe to it for.
Best For: Fans of Conference USA or MAC or Sun Belt,
Hardcore College Football Fans
Worst For: Pretty much everyone else
THINGS TO KNOW
There are a lot of nuances and caveats regarding some of
these services and channels so please read the following items before you
decide to purchase anything.
Issues with local coverage
·
Local stations sometimes air a different game
than is advertised
o There
are times where you may not be able to watch a game (or must use the
appropriate app to view a game) even though it has been designated to be
carried by one of your local channels because the local channel is instead
airing other programming such as professional sports or even a different
college football game.
For example, in the Pittsburgh
market, WTAE ABC (4.1) is the station which has the rights to the OTA ACCN Game
of the Week each Saturday @ 12:20 PM ET.
However, ABC usually airs a national or regional college football
broadcast starting at 12:00 PM ET. Thus,
the ACCN Game of the Week usually ends up being shown on This TV (4.2), the
digital sub channel of WTAE. However, when the ACCN Game of the Week features
Pittsburgh, that game is aired on WTAE and the ABC regional/national game is
bumped to This TV. On November 5, 2016,
Pitt played at Miami starting at 12:30 PM ET; this game was shown on WTAE which
forced Northwestern-Wisconsin (ABC national broadcast starting at 12:00 PM ET)
to be shown on This TV. Thus, if you
subscribed to a streaming service which carried ABC (WTAE), you would not have
seen the Wisconsin-Northwestern game.
Instead the only way you could have watched it would have been to use
the WATCHESPN or ESPN apps or to use an antenna to receive This TV. It should be noted that all ABC games are
available via ESPN3 so this example would not have required a television
subscription to view the game, only ESPN3 access.
Similar issues can happen with
RSNs as well. On September 24, 2016, San
Jose State at Iowa State was distributed by FOX Sports RSNs starting at 12:00 PM
ET. However, FOX Sports Detroit chose to
air the ACCN RSN Game of the Week, Central Michigan at Virginia, starting at
12:30 PM ET on its main channel. Thus,
the San Jose State-Iowa State game was aired on FOX Sports Detroit+. Again, if you had a subscription to a
streaming service that does not carry FOX Sports Detroit+, which is essentially
an overflow channel, you would have needed to go to the FOX Sports Go app to be
able to watch that game. Please note
that the issues described above are not unique to streaming services, but they
are things to keep in mind.
Overflow channels
·
Conference Networks
o As
mentioned earlier, conference networks will frequently air multiple games at
the same time with the primary game for your region usually determined by
geography. This means that if you are
interested in watching the secondary game, you must either find the alternate
channel for the network or find the online stream of the game via the networks
app.
For example, on September 17,
2016, BTN aired both Georgia Sate at Wisconsin & Temple at Penn State
starting at 12 PM ET. If you lived in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the main BTN channel showed the Temple-Penn State
game while Georgia State-Wisconsin was carried on one of BTN’s overflow channels. However, not all of these streaming services
carry all the overflow channels for networks that have them. So if you used a streaming service that did
not carry all of BTN’s overflow channels,
you would have had to login to the BTN2GO app, using your provider credentials,
in order to watch Georgia State-Wisconsin.
It’s similar for the SECN, except that you would use the WATCHESPN or ESPN
apps. Again, this issue is not
necessarily unique to streaming services, because some cable providers do not
carry all the overflow channels (compared to satellite providers who generally
do), but it is something to be aware of.
Game windows
·
Game running late into the start of the next
game
o Most
college football games are scheduled for 3.5-hour windows; however, games
frequently last longer than 3.5 hours, especially when there are weather
delays, which end up delaying the start of the next scheduled game on the same
channel. It also frequently happens with
the channels that air the ACCN Game of the Week since that game starts at 12:20
PM ET and thus, only has 3 hours and 10 minutes until the 3:30 PM ET games
start. When these situations happen, the
next game is usually started on an alternate network, or if none is available,
streamed online via the WATCHESPN or FOX Sports Go apps. For games on the ESPN channels, ESPNU &
ESPNEWS are usually used as overflow channels, although the SECN alternate
channel has been used occasionally as well for SEC games. If there are no overflow channels available,
the next game will usually be made available to be streamed on ESPN3. For games
on the FOX channels, FOX Sports 2 is usually used as the main overflow channel,
although there was once instance where a game (Oklahoma-Texas Tech) was moved
to FOX News Channel because the World Series was set to air on FOX that night. Although each network usually stays with the
current game until its conclusion, there are cases where the network will leave
a current game to show the start of the next game; this usually happens with
networks that are located in the broadcast area for one of the teams that is
playing in the next game. For example, in
2013 there was an ACC Game of the Week between Louisiana Tech and NC State that
started at 12:30 PM ET on WTAE (ABC) in Pittsburgh. However, the game was not over by 3:30 PM ET
when ABC was scheduled to air Penn State-Syracuse as part of its 3:30 PM ET
regional coverage. WTAE left the ACCN
game and started airing the Penn State game on time since Pittsburgh is
considered part of the Penn State viewing area.
However, for most games,
especially those on cable channels, unless the game is a large blowout the network
will stay with it until its conclusion. This
is something to keep in mind if you decide to subscribe to a streaming service
as there may be channels you do not anticipate needing to watch but may
occasionally air part of a game you’re interested in because the game before
yours ran late, pushing the start of your game to an alternate channel
temporarily.
Away Games
·
The TV partners of the home team determine who
airs each game. Generally, the home team
has the broadcast rights to each game and thus, one of the channels of those
partners will be the one that airs the game.
In the case of a neutral site game, the contract for the game usually
designates one of the teams as the “home team” for both uniform and
broadcasting purposes. This is important
because even if your favorite team is in a conference who home and/or
conference games are only aired on certain channels, they may play a road game
(or games) which is aired on other channels because the team(s) they are
playing has a different media partner. Therefore,
when deciding which streaming service best fits your needs, you should make
sure to research any away games for your favorite team(s) to see which channels
you may need to subscribe to in order to watch those road games as there may be
a game on a network such as CBSSN or P12N that your favorite team normally
would not air on.
CONFERENCE
& CHANNEL CHARTS
Below are several charts to assist with your decision to
cut the cord and/or sign up for an online streaming service. The first one shows the channels which have
the Tier 1, 2, and 3 media (i.e. TV) rights for each of the Power 5 conferences. The second one shows the television partners
for the other 5 FBS conferences, aka the Group of 5. The third one shows the most common channels
which carry college football and the level of package (if available) on each
streaming service.
MEDIA RIGHTS BY CONFERENCE (POWER 5
CONFERENCES)
Tier 1
|
Tier 2
|
Tier 3
|
Conf Champ Game
|
|
ACC
|
ABC
|
ESPN/2/U/NEWS
|
OTA (syndicated
by Raycom,
channels vary by
market) &
RSN (RSNs vary
by market)
|
ABC/ESPN/2
|
Big Ten
|
ABC & FOX
|
ESPN/2/U/NEWS
& FS1/FS2
|
BTN
|
FOX
|
Big 12
|
ABC & FOX
|
ESPN/2/U/NEWS
& FS1/FS2
|
*Varies by team
–Longhorn Network (Texas) is the only linear cable channel
|
**FOX &
ABC/ESPN/2
|
Pac-12
|
ABC & FOX
|
ESPN/2/U/NEWS
& FS1/FS2
|
P12N
|
***FOX &
ABC/ESPN/2
|
SEC
|
CBS
|
ESPN/2/U/NEWS
|
SECN
|
CBS
|
*Each team is given one game for institutional control
which they can then sell the rights to for broadcasting
**This game is split between FOX (odd years) & ESPN
channels (even years).
***This game is split between FOX (even years) and ESPN
channels (odd years).
Notre Dame – NBC Sports owns the rights to all
Notre Dame home games. All 2018 home
games & the game vs Syracuse in New York City are scheduled to be aired on the
NBC broadcast channel. Their five away
games will air on networks determined by the broadcast partners of the teams
they are facing.
BYU – ESPN has the rights of first selection to
all BYU home games or neutral site games where BYU is the designated home
team. This includes a minimum of 3 games
to air on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 and at least one game to air on ESPNU. Any home games that ESPN does not televise
can be aired on BYUtv, which is a TV channel founded and run by the
university. BYUtv general airs one BYU
football game per year and is currently not available as part of any streaming
service.
MEDIA RIGHTS BY CONFERENCE (GROUP OF 5
CONFERENCES)
Partner 1
|
Partner 2
|
Partner 3
|
Partner 4
|
Partner 5
|
|
AAC
|
ESPN
|
CBSSN*
|
-----------
|
-------------------------
|
---------------------
|
Conf USA
|
ESPN
|
CBSSN
|
beIN Sports
|
Stadium
|
ESPN+
|
MAC
|
ESPN
|
CBSSN*
|
ESPN+
|
-------------------------
|
---------------------
|
MWC
|
ESPN
|
CBSSN
|
Campus
Insiders**/
Stadium
|
TheMWC.com**
|
---------------------
|
Sun Belt
|
ESPN
|
Stadium
|
ESPN+
|
-------------------------
|
---------------------
|
*These games are sublicensed from ESPN which controls the
initial rights to them.
**These games are streamed online only.
CFB CHANNEL INPUT SPREADSHEET
Below is an Excel spreadsheet that will allow you to input
up to 15 channels and will return all streaming service options which carry
that group of channels, including highlighting the cheapest available option.
Please read the instructions (located on the 2nd tab in the file) before
using but it is fairly straightforward. You simply enter in the name of
each channel (it has to match the name I've assigned to it in the Channel Key
in the file) and the spreadsheet will automatically update to show all
available packages which carry the channel(s). There's also an Out of
Market filter which is only used for receiving LHN on certain services.
To download a copy of it (it's a zip file which you must
save & unzip to access the Excel file), click here.
STREAMING
SERVICE & CFB NETWORK CHART
Sling TV
|
Vue
|
DTV NOW
|
FuboTV
|
Hulu Live
|
YouTube TV
|
|
ABC
|
No
|
Access*
(or higher)
|
Live a Little*
(or higher)
|
No
|
Yes*
|
Yes
|
ESPN
|
Orange
|
Access
(or higher)
|
Live a Little
(or higher)
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
ESPN2
|
Orange
|
Access
(or higher)
|
Live a Little
(or higher)
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
ESPNU
|
Sports Extra
(Orange)
|
Core
(or higher)
|
Just Right
(or higher)
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
ESPNEWS
|
Sports Extra
(Orange)
|
Core
(or higher)
|
Just Right
(or higher)
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
ESPN GOAL LINE
|
Sports Extra
(Orange)
|
Core +
Sports Pack
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
SECN
|
Sports Extra
(Orange)
|
Core
(or higher)
|
Just Right
(or higher)
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
BTN
|
No
|
Core
(or higher)
|
Just Right
(or higher)
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
FOX
|
Blue*
|
Access*
(or higher)
|
Live a Little*
(or higher)
|
Yes*
|
Yes*
|
Yes
|
FS1
|
Blue
|
Access
(or higher)
|
Live a Little
(or higher)
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
FS2
|
Blue
|
Access
(or higher)
|
Go Big
(or higher)
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
CBS
|
No
|
Access*
(or higher)
|
Live a Little*
(or higher)
|
Yes*
|
Yes*
|
Yes
|
CBSSN
|
No
|
Core
(or higher)
|
Go Big
(or higher)
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
NBC
|
Blue*
|
Access*
(or higher)
|
Live a Little*
(or higher)
|
Yes*
|
Yes*
|
Yes
|
NBCSN
|
Blue
|
Access
(or higher)
|
Live a Little
(or higher)
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
P12N
|
Sports Extra (Orange/Blue)**
|
No
|
No
|
Yes***&
Sports Plus*** |
No
|
No
|
LHN
|
No
|
Core****
(or higher)
|
Just Right*
(or higher)
|
No
|
No
|
No
|
FOX Sports RSNs
|
Blue*
|
Core*
(or higher)
|
Just Right*
(or higher)
|
Yes*
|
Yes*
|
Yes
|
NBC Sports RSNs
|
Blue*
|
Core*
(or higher)
|
Just Right*
(or higher)
|
Yes*
|
Yes*
|
Yes
|
STADIUM
|
Sports Extra (Orange/Blue)
|
Elite(or higher)
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
beIN SPORTS USA
|
Sports Extra (Orange/Blue)
|
No
|
No
|
Yes
|
No
|
No
|
ESPN3
|
Orange
|
Access(?)
|
Live a Little(?)
|
No
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
WATCHESPN
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
---------
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
BTN2GO
|
---------
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
FOX SPORTS GO
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
Yes
|
PAC-12 Now
|
No
|
---------
|
---------
|
No
|
---------
|
---------
|
NBCSports.com/ NBCS
App-ND FB
|
Yes/
Yes
|
Yes/
Yes
|
Yes/
Yes
|
Yes/
Yes
|
Yes/
Yes
|
No/
Yes
|
CBSSports.com/ CBSS
App-CBSSN
|
---------
|
Yes/
Yes
|
Yes/
Yes
|
Yes/
Yes
|
Yes/
Yes
|
Yes/
Yes
|
*Available in select
markets only
**Includes
all P12N regional feeds only, does not include the national feed.
***Base & Extra packages
include the P12N national feed while the Sports Plus add-on includes the 6 regional
feeds
****Available in select
markets as part of Core; in other markets, requires Core or higher subscription
+ Sports Pack ($10/month)
To see a PDF version of the chart above, click here.
POSTSEASON
GAMES
All bowl games
will air on ESPN except for the ones listed below.
Game
|
Date
|
Time
|
Channel
|
Celebration Bowl
|
12/15/2018
|
12:00 PM ET
|
ABC
|
Cure Bowl
|
12/15/2018
|
1:30 PM ET
|
CBSSN
|
Las Vegas Bowl
|
12/15/2018
|
3:30 PM ET
|
ABC
|
Arizona Bowl
|
12/28/2018
|
5:30 PM ET
|
CBSSN
|
Belk Bowl
|
12/29/2018
|
12:30 PM ET
|
ABC
|
Sun Bowl
|
12/31/2018
|
12:00 PM ET
|
CBS
|
San Francisco Bowl
|
12/31/2018
|
3:00 PM ET
|
FOX
|
Holiday Bowl
|
12/31/2018
|
7:00 PM ET
|
FS1
|
Outback Bowl
|
1/1/2019
|
12:00 PM ET
|
ESPN2
|
Citrus Bowl
|
1/1/2019
|
1:00 PM ET
|
ABC
|
(►12/7/18) 2018-19 Postseason Bowl Game Chart - here
SOURCES &
REFERENCES:
The information in the chart above and this entire post came
from a variety of sources. Some websites
that are very useful for CFB TV listings are Matt Sarz Sports, FBSCHEDULES.com,
and LSUFootball.net.
College Football Game Broadcast Schedules
Matt’s College Sports on TV Website
- Has CFB & CBB TV listings for each week in addition to archived listings
dating back to 2006-07
FBSCHEDULES.com – Has future
& past schedules for every team including TV information
LSUFootball.net –
Has CFB TV listings for each week for & a schedule of upcoming game
replays; also includes archived TV listings back to 2004
2018 College Football TV Schedule Releases
ESPN
Sling TV
PlayStation Vue
DIRECTV NOW
DIRECTVNOW – Master List of RSNs by Zip Code & Team
DIRECTVNOW – Comparison Guide for Channel Packages
DIRECTVNOW – Comparison Guide for Channel Packages
FuboTV
Hulu Live
MISC
