The College Football Playoff revealed its 2026‑27 slate on Tuesday, confirming that the postseason will unfold across eleven contests beginning on December 18 and culminating with the national championship on January 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
A new broadcast model
Officials from the CFP, together with ESPN and TNT Sports, outlined a broadcast arrangement that expands ESPN’s portfolio to include five games that will be sublicensed to TNT Sports and its cable outlets. Every contest will also stream on the ESPN App, while first‑round matchups on TNT and truTV will simulcast on HBO Max.
The announcement underscores a broader distribution strategy, noting that all games on the ESPN family of networks will be accessible through the digital platform, and that campus‑site venues for the opening round will be disclosed on December 6, when the assignment of three quarterfinal windows will also be made public.
Quarterfinal action is slated for January 1, featuring the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, and the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The remaining quarterfinal will take place at the Fiesta Bowl on December 30 in Glendale, Arizona.
The semifinals will be contested on January 14 and 15 at the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida, and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, before the championship game returns to Las Vegas on January 25.
With the schedule now set, teams and fans alike can begin mapping out travel and viewing plans for what promises to be a densely packed postseason that blends traditional bowl traditions with a modern broadcast footprint.