GUIDE: How to watch the 2024 College Football season on TV and stream
The 2023 college football season was electric and served as the perfect advocate for the expanded college football playoff coming in 2024. Last year, several teams seemingly deserving of a spot in the final four, missed out, including the Georgia Bulldogs who had gone undefeated all season long until they lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship game. As a result, they missed out, despite easily being considered one of the four best teams in the country.
In the 2024 season, the College Football playoff will now extend to 12 teams, making for one of the most electrifying post-season setups in the history of the sport.
Look out for teams such as the Georgia Bulldogs, looking to reclaim their title while several other high-level programs go through significant changes. Two of the college games most accomplished head coaches walked away from the game following the 2023 season, including Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh.
The Wolverines finally won a National Championship under Harbaugh, and now as the defending champions, they’ll need to push forward without their now former coach.
Harbaugh accepted the head coaching job of the NFL’s L.A. Chargers, while Alabama’s Nick Saban retired from coaching after 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa and an all-time resume in the sport.
Oregon, Alabama, Texas, Ohio State and many more will be battling for a place in the new look playoff, setting the table for a thrilling college football campaign.
This guide will provide you with a preview of the 2024 College Football Season, as well as all of your viewing options for all the games and highlights throughout the year.
Key Dates:
- Regular Season Week 1 Begins August 24th
- Regular Season Week 16 Ends December 14th
- Bowl Season Begins December 14th
- Playoffs Begin December 20th until January 20th
How to Watch the College Football Season
National Broadcasts
Nationally broadcast games will feature every weekend during the college football season, with games live on ESPN, FS1 and CBS throughout the year. ESPN boasts the strongest roster of games, and the cheapest way to access it is via a Sling TV subscription. As for Fox Sports 1 and CBS, you’ll need a DirecTV stream, FuboTV, Hulu or one of the other streaming services that offers those channels.
Regional Broadcasts
Regional broadcast games will be available via local channels such as the Bally Sports networks. The available games will depend on the area/state you are watching in.
Games will also be broadcast on each conference's channel, including the SEC Network and the Big 12 Network channels. Those games are typically also available on ESPN+, so if you have the subscription for $10.99 per month, you’ll also gain access to those game/conference channels automatically.
Streaming Options
- ESPN - ESPN continues to be the main service provider for college sports in the USA, and with ESPN+, you’ll gain additional access to all college football games that are not subjected to either regional or network blackouts. ESPN+ is $10.99 per month or $109.99 for the year, and serves as one of the very best options for college sports.
It is worth noting however that ESPN+ is only available in the U.S.
For the ESPN network channel, you’ll need a tv streaming service, with several including Hulu and Roku both offering ESPN within their packages.
- ABC - ABC will have a share of college football games once again in 2024, including some of the most appealing matchups in the SEC Conference. The likes of Georgia @ Alabama, Florida vs Georgia and Texas A&M @ Florida will all be exclusive to ABC.
Once again you can sign up for ABC via one of the available streaming services, including Hulu.
- TNT Sports - TNT reached an agreement with ESPN that grants the network access to broadcast two exclusive first round playoff games for each of the next five seasons. Additionally, starting in 2026, TNT will also have the rights to two quarterfinal games.
TNT starts at $9.99 per month with ads, with a mid-tier service offering at $15.99 without ads, and $19.99 per month for the ultimate ad-free experience.
Editor’s Choice
Depending on your budget, there are multiple options to gain access to all of the best college football games. ESPN+ is undoubtedly the best value when it comes to college football, with the widest range of games available for just $10.99 per month.
Sling TV is a great option to gain access to ESPN live broadcasting, and you’ll have a percentage of the cost in doing so. If you’re willing to sacrifice some of the games blacked out for other networks, Sling’s introductory package at $40 per month will at least get you the ESPN broadcast.
However, if you want access to every game, you’ll need a fuboTV or Hulu subscription, with a package that includes ESPN, ABC, TNT and CBS sports at the very minimum. At that point, it does start to get more expensive, but you will have unrivaled access to any college football matchup of your choosing throughout both the regular and postseason.
2024/25 Season Schedule:
- College Football Regular Season: August 24th to December 14th
- College Football Bowl Season: December 14th to January 20th
- College Football Playoff First Round: December 20th & 21st
- College Football Playoff Quarterfinals: December 31st & January 1st
- College Football Playoff Semi-Finals: January 9th & 10th
- College Football National Championship: January 20th
Author: Venuse, Inc.