Media Intelligence
College Football Broadcast & Media Trends
Follow the national schedule from linear TV dominance to streaming expansion, prime-time concentration, and the networks that keep shaping Saturday.
Season Snapshot: 2025
2025
1,524 tracked games with 54.0% on streaming and 34.8% in prime time.
Lead Partner
ESPN+
745 games, 48.9% of the latest season.
Broadcast Cadence
A compact view of how the current season is tilting before you drop into the long-range charts.
Night Window
Morning Kickoff
2 games, 0.1% of the latest-season kickoff mix.
Top Network Era
ESPN+
4,431 total appearances across the tracked sample.
Games Tracked
22,447
Across 23 seasons and 65 broadcast partners.
Streaming Share
54.0%
Latest-season kickoffs placed on digital-first platforms.
Prime-Time Share
34.8%
Share of the latest-season slate kicking after 7 p.m. ET.
Coverage Range
2003 – 2025
Tracked from the BCS era into the expanded-playoff calendar.
What stands out
The clearest shifts in the broadcast map
Use the headline notes to orient before moving into the time-series views below.
- ESPN+ has carried 4,431 broadcasts across 23 seasons, the most of any network in the dataset.
- Streaming windows grew from 0.0% of broadcasts in 2003 to 54.0% in 2025.
- Digital-first kickoffs gained 54.0 percentage points over the life of the dataset.
- ESPN+ owned 184 prime-time windows in 2025, good for 34.7% of the night slate.
- ESPN+ added 713 televised games compared with 2003, the biggest gain among national partners.
Network momentum
Who owns the national windows
Compare how the biggest television partners rise and fall across the modern era.
ESPN+ leads the modern era, with ESPN3 and ESPN close behind.
Media mix evolution
Linear television is no longer the only Saturday stage
Stack the schedule by distribution type to see when streaming and specialty feeds began taking real share.
Prime-time regulars
Programs that keep getting the marquee slot
These teams command the night windows most often, and the trend line shows how that attention rises and falls.
| Rank | Program | Prime-time games | Share of schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | USC | 230 | 68.9% |
| #2 | LSU | 225 | 66.4% |
| #3 | Boise State | 213 | 72.0% |
| #4 | Fresno State | 177 | 72.5% |
| #5 | Arizona | 176 | 73.0% |
| #6 | Oregon | 175 | 56.6% |
| #7 | Stanford | 167 | 64.0% |
| #8 | Alabama | 162 | 43.8% |
| #9 | BYU | 162 | 60.9% |
| #10 | UCLA | 159 | 58.5% |
Window specialists
Who shows up in each national slot
Some programs dominate the noon inventory while others almost live under the lights.
Morning Kickoff
- Hawai'i15 (7.0%)
- Louisville10 (4.7%)
- Air Force9 (4.2%)
Early Afternoon
- Northwestern155 (1.1%)
- Pittsburgh155 (1.1%)
- Syracuse154 (1.1%)
Late Afternoon
- Alabama147 (1.0%)
- Georgia137 (0.9%)
- Penn State135 (0.9%)
Prime Time
- LSU223 (1.6%)
- USC171 (1.2%)
- Alabama162 (1.2%)
Late Night
- Fresno State104 (5.5%)
- Arizona99 (5.2%)
- Arizona State94 (5.0%)
Unscheduled
- Oregon1 (50.0%)
- UCLA1 (50.0%)
Network favorites
The teams each partner leans on most
Counts below represent total program appearances on each network.
ABC
2,424 total- Ohio State101 (4.2%)
- Oklahoma100 (4.1%)
- Texas92 (3.8%)
- Michigan85 (3.5%)
- Florida State82 (3.4%)
- Clemson79 (3.3%)
FOX
971 total- Ohio State53 (5.5%)
- Oklahoma47 (4.8%)
- USC44 (4.5%)
- TCU40 (4.1%)
- Michigan38 (3.9%)
- UCLA38 (3.9%)
CBS
824 total- Alabama101 (12.3%)
- Georgia78 (9.5%)
- Florida68 (8.3%)
- LSU64 (7.8%)
- Auburn56 (6.8%)
- Tennessee50 (6.1%)
NBC
374 total- Notre Dame132 (35.3%)
- Michigan14 (3.7%)
- USC14 (3.7%)
- Michigan State13 (3.5%)
- Purdue11 (2.9%)
- Navy10 (2.7%)
ESPN+
8,779 total- North Dakota State92 (1.0%)
- South Dakota State80 (0.9%)
- UT Martin79 (0.9%)
- Tennessee Tech75 (0.9%)
- Youngstown State75 (0.9%)
- Austin Peay74 (0.8%)
ESPN3
7,590 total- New Mexico State83 (1.1%)
- Troy82 (1.1%)
- Akron81 (1.1%)
- Arkansas State81 (1.1%)
- Idaho78 (1.0%)
- Miami (OH)77 (1.0%)
ESPN
4,428 total- Clemson99 (2.2%)
- Virginia Tech89 (2.0%)
- LSU86 (1.9%)
- Alabama81 (1.8%)
- Florida State81 (1.8%)
- Miami81 (1.8%)
ESPN2
2,972 total- Northern Illinois47 (1.6%)
- South Florida47 (1.6%)
- Toledo47 (1.6%)
- Boise State44 (1.5%)
- BYU44 (1.5%)
- Purdue43 (1.4%)
ESGP
2,688 total- Vanderbilt52 (1.9%)
- North Carolina50 (1.9%)
- Kentucky47 (1.7%)
- New Mexico State47 (1.7%)
- Syracuse47 (1.7%)
- Hawai'i45 (1.7%)
Latest season
Season Snapshot: 2025
In 2025, networks televised 1,524 tracked FBS games. Streaming owned 54.0% of kickoffs, while 34.8% fell into the night spotlight.
Streaming share
54.0%
Prime-time share
34.8%
Top broadcast partners
The latest-season outlets carrying the most inventory.
| Rank | Outlet | Games | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | ESPN+ | 745 | 48.9% |
| #2 | ESPN | 122 | 8.0% |
| #3 | CBSSN | 71 | 4.7% |
| #4 | ESPN2 | 71 | 4.7% |
| #5 | ESPNU | 59 | 3.9% |
| #6 | ABC | 58 | 3.8% |
| #7 | FS1 | 54 | 3.5% |
| #8 | FOX | 48 | 3.1% |
Kickoff window mix
How the current season is spreading across the day.
- 0.1%
Morning Kickoff
2 games
- 32.1%
Early Afternoon
489 games
- 32.9%
Late Afternoon
502 games
- 31.1%
Prime Time
474 games
- 3.7%
Late Night
57 games