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: 2026
2026
436 tracked games with 32.1% on streaming and 52.8% in prime time.
Lead Partner
ESPN+
90 games, 20.6% 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
1 games, 0.2% of the latest-season kickoff mix.
Top Network Era
ESPN+
4,017 total appearances across the tracked sample.
Games Tracked
22,352
Across 24 seasons and 67 broadcast partners.
Streaming Share
32.1%
Latest-season kickoffs placed on digital-first platforms.
Prime-Time Share
52.8%
Share of the latest-season slate kicking after 7 p.m. ET.
Coverage Range
2003 – 2026
Tracked from the BCS era into the expanded-playoff calendar.
Research views
Open a focused media workspace
Use the tabs to move from broadcast trends into viewership, team comparison, conference aggregation, or rated-game tables.
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 4,017 broadcasts across 24 seasons, the most of any network in the dataset.
- Streaming windows grew from 0.0% of broadcasts in 2003 to 32.1% in 2026.
- Digital-first kickoffs gained 32.1 percentage points over the life of the dataset.
- ESPN+ owned 47 prime-time windows in 2026, good for 20.4% of the night slate.
- ESPN+ added 58 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 | 232 | 68.6% |
| #2 | LSU | 229 | 66.8% |
| #3 | Boise State | 219 | 71.6% |
| #4 | Fresno State | 186 | 72.9% |
| #5 | Arizona | 181 | 73.3% |
| #6 | Oregon | 177 | 56.5% |
| #7 | Stanford | 171 | 64.0% |
| #8 | BYU | 165 | 61.1% |
| #9 | San Diego State | 164 | 76.6% |
| #10 | UCLA | 163 | 59.1% |
Window specialists
Who shows up in each national slot
Some programs dominate the noon inventory while others almost live under the lights.
Morning Kickoff
- Louisville10 (5.3%)
- Air Force9 (4.8%)
- Navy7 (3.7%)
Early Afternoon
- Pittsburgh157 (1.1%)
- Syracuse156 (1.1%)
- Northwestern155 (1.1%)
Late Afternoon
- Alabama149 (1.0%)
- Georgia139 (1.0%)
- Florida State136 (0.9%)
Prime Time
- LSU227 (1.6%)
- USC172 (1.2%)
- Alabama162 (1.1%)
Late Night
- Fresno State109 (5.5%)
- Arizona102 (5.1%)
- Hawai'i97 (4.9%)
Unscheduled
- San José State6 (20.0%)
- Hawai'i4 (13.3%)
- Northern Illinois4 (13.3%)
Network favorites
The teams each partner leans on most
Counts below represent total program appearances on each network.
ABC
2,450 total- Ohio State102 (4.2%)
- Oklahoma100 (4.1%)
- Texas94 (3.8%)
- Michigan85 (3.5%)
- Florida State84 (3.4%)
- Clemson80 (3.3%)
FOX
1,008 total- Ohio State55 (5.5%)
- Oklahoma48 (4.8%)
- USC45 (4.5%)
- Michigan40 (4.0%)
- TCU40 (4.0%)
- UCLA39 (3.9%)
CBS
844 total- Alabama101 (12.0%)
- Georgia78 (9.2%)
- Florida68 (8.1%)
- LSU64 (7.6%)
- Auburn56 (6.6%)
- Tennessee50 (5.9%)
NBC
398 total- Notre Dame139 (34.9%)
- Michigan15 (3.8%)
- USC15 (3.8%)
- Michigan State14 (3.5%)
- Purdue11 (2.8%)
- Navy10 (2.5%)
ESPN+
8,034 total- North Dakota State81 (1.0%)
- UT Martin75 (0.9%)
- South Dakota State70 (0.9%)
- Austin Peay66 (0.8%)
- Missouri State65 (0.8%)
- Tennessee Tech65 (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
4,502 total- Clemson102 (2.3%)
- Virginia Tech91 (2.0%)
- LSU86 (1.9%)
- Florida State84 (1.9%)
- Miami83 (1.8%)
- Alabama81 (1.8%)
ESPN2
2,996 total- South Florida48 (1.6%)
- Toledo48 (1.6%)
- Northern Illinois47 (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: 2026
In 2026, networks televised 436 tracked FBS games. Streaming owned 32.1% of kickoffs, while 52.8% fell into the night spotlight.
Streaming share
32.1%
Prime-time share
52.8%
Top broadcast partners
The latest-season outlets carrying the most inventory.
| Rank | Outlet | Games | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | ESPN+ | 90 | 20.6% |
| #2 | CBSSN | 60 | 13.8% |
| #3 | ESPN | 37 | 8.5% |
| #4 | The CW Network | 29 | 6.7% |
| #5 | BTN | 21 | 4.8% |
| #6 | MW+ | 20 | 4.6% |
| #7 | USA Net | 20 | 4.6% |
| #8 | ESPN2 | 19 | 4.4% |
Kickoff window mix
How the current season is spreading across the day.
- 0.2%
Morning Kickoff
1 games
- 15.8%
Early Afternoon
69 games
- 28.0%
Late Afternoon
122 games
- 43.6%
Prime Time
190 games
- 9.2%
Late Night
40 games
- 3.2%
Unscheduled
14 games