The College Football Playoff will expand to 12 teams. Plus: Big 12 media rights discussions are in the works, Sinclair might be unloading its Bally Sports regional networks, and NBA League Pass just became noticeably less expensive.
College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams; start date uncertain
The College Football Playoff Board of Managers voted Friday to approve the 12-team playoff proposal that was first broached last summer. The 12-team format will include the six highest-ranked conference champions and six at-large teams. The four highest-ranked conference champions get a first-round playoff bye, while the 5-12 seeds play first-round games at campus sites in mid-December. Quarterfinals and semifinals will be bowl games, and the national title game will be a neutral-site event.
The new, expanded playoff is currently set to begin in 2026. However, discussions involving playoff officials and conference commissioners will occur this week exploring the possibility of starting the 12-team playoff in 2024. The existing four-team playoff is scheduled to run through the 2025-26 college football season. (ESPN.com 9.2)
Big 12 explores media rights negotiations
The Big 12 said last week that it will hold talks with incumbent broadcast partners ESPN and Fox Sports that could lead to an early extension of its media rights deal. The news comes not long after the Big Ten agreed to a new media rights package with NBC, CBS and incumbent FOX and as the Pac-12 is negotiating its next round of rights deals in the wake of USC and UCLA’s departure to the Big Ten.
The current Big 12 contract runs through the 2024-25 academic year. ESPN reported that any potential deal would likely be a “short-term extension” meant to give the conference concrete financial figures in its quest to lure new members. Should the talks fail to result in a deal, ESPN and Fox will still maintain their traditional exclusive negotiating window in February 2024, per ESPN. (Big 12 8:31 a.m.)
Sinclair could soon unload Bally Sports RSNs
Sports Business Journal reported last week that Sinclair’s Diamond Sports Group hired the investment banks LionTree and Moelis, an indication that the group’s 21 Bally-branded RSNs could soon be sold in an attempt to fend off possible bankruptcy. Moelis is involved in corporate restructuring, which would suggest a substantial change in Sinclair’s sports media strategy.
According to the report, Diamond Sports Group is operating with more than $8 billion in debt.
LionTree previously represented Capitals, Wizards and Mystics owner Ted Leonsis, when he bought NBC Sports Washington from Comcast. (SBJ 8.29)
NBA League Pass price reduced by 56 percent
Sportico reported last week that the price for the NBA League Pass streaming product will decrease to just $100 for the season-long standard League Pass service, down from $230 the previous year. The premium version of League Pass will be $130, down from $280. There is a $15/month option for this year’s League Pass plan.
The previous $230 (standard plan) and $280 (premium) prices did include an added $30 fee for NBA TV as part of the League Pass package, so for customers who did not have NBA TV as part of their plan, the new price reduction will be less than 56 percent. (Sportico 8.31)