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College Football on NBC Sports
College Football on NBC Sports
College Football on NBC Sports
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College Football on NBC Sports
Also known asNotre Dame Football on NBC/Peacock
Big Ten Saturday on NBC/Peacock
Big Ten Saturday Night
Big Ten Football Night (non-Saturday games)
GenreCollege football telecasts
Directed byCharlie Dammeyer
Presented byNoah Eagle
Todd Blackledge
Kathryn Tappen
Terry McAulay
Dan Hicks
Jason Garrett
Zora Stephenson
Reggie Smith
Ahmed Fareed
Jordan Cornette
Matt Cassel
Michael Robinson
Joshua Perry
Chris Simms
Nicole Auerbach
John Fanta
(see more)
Theme music composerJohn Colby (Notre Dame)
Fall Out Boy (primetime)
Alex Hitchens (afternoon)
Opening theme“Here Comes Saturday Night” by Fall Out Boy (primetime games only)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons87
Production
ProducerMatthew Marvin
Production locationsVarious NCAA stadiums
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time210 minutes and until game ends (inc. adverts)
Production companyNBC Sports
Original release
NetworkNBC
USA Network
CNBC
Peacock
Universo via Telemundo Deportes
(Spanish simulcasts of select games)
ReleaseSeptember 30, 1939 (1939-09-30) –
present
Related
Notre Dame Football on NBC
Big Ten College Countdown

College Football on NBC Sports is the de facto title used for broadcasts of NCAA college football games produced by NBC Sports.

Via its experimental station W2XBS, NBC presented the first television broadcast of American football at any level on September 30, 1939, between the Fordham Rams and the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets. NBC held rights to the NCAA's regular-season game of the week package from 1952–53, 1955–59, and 1964–65. From 1952 to 1988, NBC was the broadcaster of the Rose Bowl Game. In 1990, NBC first acquired the rights to Notre Dame Fighting Irish home games, as well as the Bayou Classic—agreements that have continued to this day, and have most recently been renewed through 2029 and 2025 respectively.

After Comcast's acquisition of NBC Universal, Versus—later renamed NBC Sports Network (NBCSN)—was merged into the NBC Sports division in 2011. By then, the network's coverage of Division I FBS football (billed as College Football on NBC Sports Network) was limited to a contract with the Mountain West that ended in 2012, and a package of Pac-10 games that had been sub-licensed by the Fox Sports Networks. NBCSN subsequently acquired packages of Division I FCS games from the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) and Ivy League; both contracts ended in 2017.

From 2015 to 2020, NBCSN broadcast selected Notre Dame home games not televised by NBC. Since 2020, NBC Sports has preferred using Peacock or other NBCUniversal channels (such as USA Network and CNBC) to carry college football games not aired by the main network. The Bayou Classic moved from the NBC broadcast network to NBCSN in 2015, but moved back to NBC in 2022 following the closure of NBCSN in December 2021.

In August 2022, NBC Sports announced that it had acquired a share of the Big Ten's football rights beginning in the 2023 season, which will include Big Ten Saturday Night games in primetime on NBC throughout the season, and a package of games on Peacock branded as Big Ten Saturday. The Big Ten Saturday branding also includes games from the Big Ten Saturday Night package that air in an afternoon window to accommodate Notre Dame primetime games.

History

[edit]

First college football TV broadcast, 1939

[edit]
Main article: 1939 Waynesburg vs. Fordham football game

On September 30, 1939. NBC broadcast a game between Waynesburg and Fordham on station W2XBS (which would eventually become NBC's flagship station, WNBC) with one camera and Bill Stern[1] as play-by-play announcer. With an estimated audience of 1,000 television sets, it was the first American football game to ever be broadcast via television.[2][3]

1950s and 1960s: NBC game of the week

[edit]
See also: NBC College Football Game of the Week

The first live regular season college football game to be broadcast coast-to-coast by NBC—featuring Duke at Pittsburgh—was broadcast on September 29, 1951.[4][5] NBC broadcast 17 college football games during the 1951 season.[6]

Under an argument that television broadcasts of football games would be detrimental to in-person attendance, the NCAA voted to prohibit the broadcast of any regular-season college football game without its permission, and establish an exclusive, NCAA-controlled broadcast rights package, consisting of one game per-week. Teams would be limited to one national television appearance per-season. This "game of the week" package was first sold to NBC in 1952 under a one-year contract for $1.144 million.[7][8][9][10][11] By 1953, the NCAA allowed NBC to add what it called "panorama" coverage of multiple regional broadcasts for certain weeks—shifting national viewers to the most interesting game during its telecast.[12]

After NBC lost its college football contract following the 1953 season, NBC regained college football rights in 1955 and aired games through the 1959 season.

Even after losing the rights to regular season college football in both 1959 and 1965, NBC continued to carry postseason football. NBC carried the Blue–Gray Football Classic, an all-star game, on Christmas Day, until dropping the game in 1963 as a protest of the game's policy of segregation.[13]

NBC regained the NCAA contract for the 1964 and 1965 seasons.[14]

1970s and 1980s: bowl games

[edit]
See also: NBC college bowl game broadcasts

NBC consistently served as the Rose Bowl Game's television home from 1952 until 1988 (when it moved to ABC),[15] and added the Sugar Bowl from 1958 to 1969. Other bowl games broadcast by NBC include the Citrus Bowl, Cotton Bowl Classic, Fiesta Bowl, Gator Bowl, Hall of Fame Bowl, Sun Bowl and the Orange Bowl.

1990s and 2000s: Notre Dame football, Bayou Classic

[edit]
Main article: Notre Dame Football on NBC

In June 1984, the Supreme Court ruled in NCAA v. Board of Regents of University of Oklahoma that the NCAA's broadcast rights policy violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, and that individual universities and athletic conferences were free to sell the broadcast rights to their games. 67 NCAA schools pooled their broadcast rights as part of a group known as the College Football Association (CFA), which negotiated packages with networks on their behalf.[16][17]

By the late-1980's, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish—which had become one of the most recognizable teams on national television—had grown dissatisfied with the CFA and its contracts, which had an emphasis on regional games. In 1990, the Fighting Irish broke away from the CFA and announced that it would sign a five-year, $38 million contract with NBC to televise its home games beginning in 1991. Analysts felt that given the team's stature, it was inevitable that Notre Dame would eventually choose to negotiate its own television deal. It was also believed that the move would trigger a larger realignment of television rights in college football.[18][16][17] This prediction would be realized when the Big East Conference and Southeastern Conference (SEC) also broke away, and signed with CBS Sports beginning in the 1995 season.[19] The CFA eventually shut down in 1997.[20]

Also in the 1991 season, NBC first acquired rights to the Bayou Classic, an annual rivalry game between Grambling State and Southern; the game was considered to be one of the first major, network television broadcasts of a college football game between historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).[21]

2010s: Addition of NBC Sports Network

[edit]
NBCSN's logo for its college football coverage.

In 2011, Comcast acquired a majority stake in NBC Universal, and merged its existing sports networks—including Versus, which was relaunched as NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) in January 2012—into the NBC Sports division.[22][23][24] With the expansion of the Pac-10, Fox Sports decided to move some of its games to FX, while Versus would continue holding rights to seven games each season.[25] The sub-licensing agreement ended in the 2012 season, when the newly-renamed Pac-12 began a new 12-year deal with Fox, ESPN, and the new conference-run Pac-12 Networks.[26][27]

Ahead of the 2012 season, NBC Sports reached a five-year contract with the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) to carry basketball and FCS football on its networks; football games would be carried on the Comcast SportsNet networks, with five games per-season airing on NBCSN—marking the first college sports contract reached by the merged division.[28][29] NBC Sports also renewed its rights to the Ivy League for two additional seasons, with NBCSN carrying at least six to ten football games per-season.[30]

In 2013, NBCSN lost its share of Mountain West rights to ESPN.[31][32] On April 9, 2013, NBC Sports renewed its broadcasting contract with Notre Dame through the 2025 season. As part of the contract, NBCSN also gained the rights to exclusively broadcast select Notre Dame home games.[33]

In 2014, NBCSN lost a portion of the CAA rights to the American Sports Network, an upstart sports syndication service launched that year by the Sinclair Broadcast Group.[34] NBCSN also initially declined to renew its television deal with the Ivy League, which would have left that league without a television broadcaster for the 2014 season; the channel's increased emphasis on Premier League soccer matches reduced the number of opportunities for the network to carry college football on Saturday afternoons. However, NBCSN reversed its decision and added select Ivy League games beginning in late October 2014 in a joint agreement with Fox College Sports. NBCSN lost its Ivy League rights after the 2017 season as the conference signed an agreement with ESPN the following year, with most games being moved to subscription service ESPN+.[35] The CAA left NBCSN for a one-year deal with CBS Sports Digital and Fox Sports Go in 2018, before signing with FloSports in 2019.[36]

In 2015, the Bayou Classic moved from NBC to NBCSN.[37] In 2020, USA Network exclusively aired one Notre Dame game on September 19, 2020, as overflow for NBC's coverage of the 2020 U.S. Open.[38] A second primetime game was briefly preempted from NBC to USA due to coverage of a speech by president-elect Joe Biden.[39] For the 2021 season, Notre Dame's home opener was aired exclusively on NBCUniversal's new streaming service Peacock.[40] NBCSN shut down at the end of 2021, with its sports properties assumed by Peacock and other NBCUniversal channels.[41]

2020s: Acquisition of Big Ten rights and renewal of Notre Dame rights

[edit]

In 2022, NBC Sports acquired rights to the inaugural HBCU NYC Football Classic game and HBCU Pigskin Showdown all-star game; both events aired on Peacock and CNBC.[42][43] As part of a contract extension for the Bayou Classic, the game moved back to NBC from the defunct NBCSN.[44]

In August 2022, it was reported that NBC Sports, along with CBS and current top rightsholder Fox, were the frontrunners for shares of the Big Ten's next round of media rights beginning in 2023.[45][46] On August 18, 2022, the Big Ten officially announced that it had reached seven-year deals with Fox, CBS, and NBC to serve as its media partners beginning in the 2023–24 season. NBC will air primetime games throughout the regular season under the title Big Ten Saturday Night. All telecasts will be available on Peacock, while eight Big Ten games per-season (including four intraconference games) will be exclusive to Peacock. NBC will carry the Big Ten championship game in 2026, while the contract also includes a package of Big Ten basketball games and Olympic sports coverage for Peacock.[47][48]

On February 2, 2023, NBC announced Noah Eagle, Todd Blackledge, and Kathryn Tappen as the lead broadcast team for Big Ten Saturday Night.[49] Its inaugural game aired on September 2, 2023, featuring the West Virginia Mountaineers at the Penn State Nittany Lions, Blackledge's alma mater.[50] On July 20, NBC announced that Maria Taylor, Joshua Perry, Matt Cassel, Michael Robinson, Ahmed Fareed, and Nicole Auerbach would headline Big Ten College Countdown, which serves as the pre-game and halftime show for Big Ten matchups. The show's name is shortened to College Countdown for Notre Dame games.[51] Following the example of NBC's Sunday Night Football theme performed by Carrie Underwood, the network announced in August 2023 that Fall Out Boy would perform the theme song for Big Ten Saturday Night, a cover of "Here Comes Saturday Night" by Italian band Giuda.[52][53] To coincide with the new Big Ten package, NBC would adopt new on-air graphics for college football and basketball coverage, replacing a package dating back to 2015 with one influenced by that of Sunday Night Football.[54][55] Kickoff begins shortly after 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time to ensure that coverage can conclude in time for affiliates to air a full newscast before NBC’s long-running sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live airs at its traditional 11:30 p.m. start time. Since the start of the prime time football package, SNL has been delayed just once, by five minutes.[56]

The dynamics of the Big Ten's media rights have caused some complications for NBC's package: teams have had the right to veto primetime games in November for various logistical reasons, preventing higher-profile teams like Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State from appearing on Big Ten Saturday Night during the final weeks of the regular season. In addition, as the Fox majority-owned Big Ten Network has been considered the de jure rightsholder of the conference since 2016 (with all media rights agreements having since been sublicenses), Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti learned that the conference would have to compensate Fox for its decision to give NBC a Big Ten championship game in 2026, as the conference did not officially have the authority to do so.[57][58]

On November 18, 2023, NBC renewed its rights to Notre Dame football through 2029.[59]

Current rights

[edit]

On-air talent

[edit]

Sources:[60][51]

On-site

[edit]

Play-by-play

  • Noah Eagle: lead Big Ten, Notre Dame primetime
  • Dan Hicks: lead Notre Dame, alternate Big Ten
  • Chris Lewis: lead HBCU
  • Paul Burmeister: alternate Big Ten and Notre Dame
  • Michael Grady: alternate
  • Kyle Draper: alternate

Analysts

Sideline reporters

  • Kathryn Tappen: lead Big Ten, Notre Dame primetime
  • Zora Stephenson: lead Notre Dame, alternate Big Ten
  • Jordan Cornette: select primetime games
  • Corey Robinson: lead HBCU
  • Lewis Johnson: alternate HBCU, Big Ten, and Notre Dame
  • Caroline Pineda: alternate Big Ten
  • Tamara Brown: alternate HBCU

Rules analysts

  • Terry McAulay: lead Big Ten, Notre Dame primetime
  • Reggie Smith: lead Notre Dame, alternate Big Ten

Studio

[edit]

Hosts

Analysts

Insider

  • Nicole Auerbach

Game breaks

  • John Fanta

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

College Football on NBC Sports

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
College Football on NBC Sports refers to the broadcast coverage of Football Bowl Subdivision games by the division of , featuring exclusive rights to all home games of the Fighting Irish and a primetime package of matchups aired on and Peacock. This arrangement positions as a key player in telecasts, with Notre Dame broadcasts marking the network's 35th consecutive season in 2025. The partnership with Notre Dame originated in 1991, establishing NBC's longstanding role in televising the program's home contests at , which draw significant viewership due to the team's national prominence and the unique atmosphere of the venue. Following the Big Ten Conference's 2022 media rights expansion, secured rights to 14-16 Saturday night games annually, including high-stakes rivalries and marquee inter-conference clashes such as at Penn State, enhancing the network's portfolio with games from top-ranked teams. Productions emphasize advanced technologies like HDR imaging and aerial drones for immersive viewing, complemented by studio programming such as College Countdown Football featuring analysts and pregame insights. Historically, pioneered national broadcasts in the with a weekly Game of the Week, televising select Saturday afternoon contests amid NCAA-imposed limitations on telecasts to protect live attendance, before rights shifted networks in the . The modern era revived prominence through the Notre Dame deal and Big Ten acquisition, focusing on premium content without notable controversies, though coverage competes in a fragmented media landscape dominated by conference-specific agreements.

History

Pioneering Broadcasts (1939–1940s)

NBC's involvement in televising began with experimental broadcasts through its New York station W2XBS, marking the medium's entry into sports coverage. On , 1939, the network aired the first-ever televised game, pitting against Waynesburg College at Triborough Stadium on Randalls Island in . Fordham secured a decisive 34-7 victory, with the broadcast reaching an estimated audience of 400 to 1,000 viewers, limited by the scant number of television sets—fewer than 200 in the greater New York area at the time. This single-camera production, hampered by primitive technology including low-resolution images and restricted field coverage, nonetheless demonstrated television's potential for live sports, though signal quality degraded beyond the urban core. These pioneering efforts occurred amid television's nascent stage, where prioritized experimental programming to showcase the technology's viability ahead of commercial expansion. The 1939 telecast followed 's earlier sports trials, such as a May 1939 Columbia-Princeton game, but the football matchup stood as the inaugural for the gridiron at any level. Sporadic follow-up broadcasts in 1940, including local New York-area college games, continued this exploratory phase, but coverage remained confined to the Northeast due to inadequate transmission infrastructure and minimal receiver ownership nationwide—total U.S. TV sets numbered around 5,000 by 1940. World War II severely curtailed such initiatives from 1941 onward, as television manufacturing shifted to military applications and civilian broadcasts dwindled amid resource shortages and blackout restrictions. Postwar resumption in the late 1940s saw gradual increases in TV penetration—sets rose from under 10,000 in 1945 to over 1 million by 1948—but telecasts stayed experimental and localized, with focusing on New York events like or Fordham games where feasible. These early efforts laid foundational precedents for visual sports dissemination, yet faced inherent constraints from technological immaturity and low penetration, foreshadowing the regulatory and commercial expansions of subsequent decades.

National Game of the Week (1950s–1960s)

NBC secured the NCAA's exclusive rights for a single national telecast per Saturday afternoon starting with the 1952 season, marking the network's entry into regular weekly broadcasts of the sport as part of the association's policy to limit television exposure and preserve live gate attendance. The two-year contract, valued at $1,144,000, allowed to select and produce one "Game of the Week" from major matchups, often featuring teams like , Notre Dame, or Big Ten and rivals, with broadcasts originating from diverse sites to represent regional interests. In 1953, an exception permitted 's "" format, enabling viewers to switch between multiple regional games on certain dates rather than a single national selection, though the standard remained one unified broadcast to comply with NCAA restrictions. The rights lapsed for NBC after 1953, with limited telecasts handled by other outlets in 1954, but the network regained the package for the 1955 through 1959 seasons, solidifying its role in national college football coverage during the decade. Announcers for these games included Mel Allen as a primary play-by-play voice, alongside Lindsey Nelson, Bill Flemming, and Jim Simpson, who contributed to the production starting in 1957; their commentary emphasized straightforward play description amid black-and-white transmissions that gradually incorporated color experiments by the late 1950s. By 1960, the NCAA's overall television rights for college football had reached $3.125 million annually, reflecting growing network investment despite ongoing controls that confined NBC and competitors to minimal weekly slots into the mid-1960s. These broadcasts transformed from a primarily regional into a national one, with early coast-to-coast telecasts like NBC's 1951 Duke-Pittsburgh game paving the way, though exact viewership figures for the Game of the Week remain sparse due to limited measurement at the time. prioritized causal protection of —studies indicated potential 40% drops at non-televised games—over expansive coverage, a policy rooted in empirical concerns about television's displacement effect on ticket sales rather than unverified fears of quality dilution. Notable games under NBC's tenure included high-profile clashes that drew urban and suburban audiences via expanding networks, contributing to the sport's cultural footprint without the multi-game packages that emerged later.

Bowl Game Focus and Regional Expansions (1970s–1980s)

In the 1970s, shifted its college football emphasis toward postseason , leveraging established rights packages to deliver high-profile matchups to national audiences. The network maintained its longstanding role as the broadcaster of the , which it had carried since the 1952 edition—marking the first nationally televised game—providing annual coverage of the traditional versus Pacific-10 Conference contest on through the decade. This commitment extended to the , where held television rights starting from the 1965 game, televising the Atlantic Coast Conference representative against independents or other major programs, such as the 1971 Nebraska-LSU matchup that drew significant viewership in after secured the contract from ABC. NBC expanded its bowl portfolio in the late 1970s by acquiring rights to the , broadcasting editions from 1978 through at least 1980, often in slots that elevated the game's visibility, as seen in the 1978 Arkansas-UCLA contest announced by . These broadcasts featured prominent announcers like Charlie Jones and , contributing to NBC's reputation for polished production amid a dominated by limited regular-season exposure due to NCAA restrictions on telecasts. The focus on bowls allowed NBC to capitalize on holiday viewership peaks, with games like the 1980 drawing audiences through strategic scheduling opposite competitors. The 1980s brought attempts at regional expansions in regular-season coverage, spurred by evolving antitrust challenges to NCAA television control. In 1981, the Association (CFA)—comprising 61 prominent programs excluding the Big Ten and Pacific-10—negotiated a $180 million, four-year prime-time with for games from 1982 to 1985, aiming to enable more selective, regionally targeted broadcasts beyond the NCAA's national game-of-the-week model. However, the agreement collapsed in December 1981 when fewer than required schools opted in, prompting to cancel the deal and highlighting the risks of fragmented rights amid ongoing legal battles. The 1984 Supreme Court ruling in NCAA v. Board of Regents dismantled the NCAA's monopoly on football telecasts, permitting conferences and schools to negotiate independently and fostering regional packages that increased overall game availability. NBC's bowl commitments persisted, with continued Rose Bowl coverage through 1988 and rights into the mid-1990s, but regular-season expansions remained modest, limited by competition from ABC and CBS's NCAA deals and the CFA's internal divisions. This era underscored NBC's bowl-centric strategy while foreshadowing greater flexibility in regional selections post-deregulation, though the network did not achieve significant regular-season footprint until later agreements.

Exclusive Notre Dame Deal and HBCU Games (1990s–2000s)

In February 1990, the announced a five-year contract granting exclusive television rights to all home football games, marking the first such standalone deal for a major college program independent of packages. This agreement, valued at an estimated $17.5 million over its term, enabled Notre Dame to negotiate directly with a network rather than sharing revenue through broader syndication or conference alignments, a strategy that preserved the program's scheduling autonomy. The deal commenced with the 1991 season opener on September 7, when Notre Dame defeated 49-27 at , drawing national attention as the inaugural exclusive broadcast. NBC's coverage of Notre Dame home games continued seamlessly through the and into the , with the network airing all regular-season contests—typically six per year—on its main broadcast channel. Renewals extended the partnership beyond the initial term, solidifying NBC as the sole outlet for Fighting Irish home telecasts and contributing to viewership peaks during standout seasons, such as the 1993 campaign under coach . The arrangement emphasized traditional broadcast production, featuring on-site announcers and sideline reporters, though ratings fluctuated amid Notre Dame's varying on-field success, including struggles in the early under . Concurrently, NBC expanded into historically Black college and university (HBCU) football by acquiring rights to the Bayou Classic in 1990, an annual rivalry game between and that debuted on the network in 1991. Broadcast from the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, the event—pitting two powerhouses—drew significant audiences as NBC's primary HBCU offering, airing live each weekend through the 2000s and highlighting cultural traditions like the marching bands' halftime showdowns. This coverage, which continued until 2014, provided national exposure to SWAC competition amid limited mainstream options for HBCU sports, with NBC producing the telecasts in a format akin to its major college games.

Launch of NBCSN and Multi-Platform Growth (2010s)

The (NBCSN) launched on January 2, 2012, through the of the Comcast-owned Versus channel, following the 2011 completion of Comcast's acquisition of a majority stake in . This merger integrated Versus's existing sports programming, including select broadcasts that had aired since the mid-2000s, into ' unified portfolio, enabling broader cable distribution and cross-promotion with NBC's . The enhanced NBCSN's visibility, positioning it as a key outlet for non-flagship content beyond NBC's exclusive Notre Dame home games. In the ensuing years, NBCSN expanded its college football slate, featuring regular-season games, rivalry matchups such as the Bayou Classic between Grambling State and Southern universities, and coverage from mid-major conferences. This growth complemented the network's other sports properties like NHL hockey and Premier League soccer, with college football serving as a staple during fall weekends, though viewership remained modest compared to major broadcast packages held by competitors like ESPN. The channel's cable carriage, reaching approximately 80 million households by the mid-2010s, facilitated access to games that might otherwise lack national exposure, supporting ' strategy to diversify its NCAA offerings. Parallel to linear expansion, the 2010s marked NBCSN's adaptation to multi-platform delivery amid rising digital consumption. NBC Sports introduced authenticated streaming via NBC Sports Live Extra in 2013, allowing cable subscribers to watch NBCSN college football games online and on mobile devices, which broadened accessibility and foreshadowed shifts in viewer habits. This digital push aligned with industry trends, where streaming complemented traditional TV, enabling NBC to capture younger audiences and extend coverage beyond cable constraints, though it faced challenges from fragmented rights and emerging over-the-top services.

Big Ten Rights Acquisition and Notre Dame Renewal (2020s–Present)

In August 2022, NBCUniversal secured a landmark seven-year media rights agreement with the Big Ten Conference, valued at part of a broader $7 billion package shared with Fox and CBS, effective from July 1, 2023, through the 2029-30 academic year. This deal positioned NBC and its streaming service Peacock as primary broadcasters for select Big Ten football games, including a weekly primetime window dubbed "Big Ten Saturday Night," featuring high-profile matchups and exclusive coverage of conference championships when applicable. NBC's annual commitment of approximately $350 million per season marked its largest sports rights acquisition since the NFL, emphasizing linear television broadcasts complemented by Peacock streaming to expand reach amid cord-cutting trends. The agreement expanded NBC's college football portfolio by integrating Big Ten content into NBC Sports' lineup, with production handled through NBC Sports' facilities and featuring enhanced graphics and analytics tailored to the conference's growing footprint following the 2024 addition of USC, UCLA, , and Washington. Initial broadcasts commenced in the 2023 season, including marquee games like Ohio State at Notre Dame on September 23, 2023, which drew significant viewership and underscored the deal's potential for with NBC's longstanding Notre Dame coverage. This acquisition aligned with the Big Ten's strategy to maximize revenue through diversified distribution, allocating NBC roughly 25% of football inventory while prioritizing premium slots to compete with SEC and other Power Five packages. Concurrently, in November 2023, extended its exclusive partnership with the for home football games through the 2029 season, building on a relationship dating back to 1991 and ensuring all contests air solely on and Peacock platforms. The renewal, announced on November 17, 2023, succeeded a prior contract paying Notre Dame approximately $22 million annually, with the new terms reportedly increasing compensation to around $50 million per year, supplemented by the school's ACC grant-of-rights revenue. This extension preserved Notre Dame's independent scheduling flexibility while integrating Peacock for streaming exclusivity, reflecting 's commitment to the program's national appeal amid evolving media landscapes. The dual developments fortified ' position in , combining Big Ten volume with Notre Dame's prestige to drive Peacock subscriptions and linear ratings, though challenges persist in balancing traditional broadcasts with digital fragmentation. As of 2025, these rights have enabled hybrid coverage models, such as simulcasts and on-demand access, adapting to viewer preferences while maintaining NBC's legacy in the sport.

Broadcasting Rights

Historical Agreements

NBC's earliest significant agreement for college football broadcasting came in 1952, when the NCAA awarded the network its first association-wide national television for a single regular-season game per week, valued at $1,144,000 for that year. This deal initiated NBC's role in televising select NCAA-sanctioned games during the , though coverage remained limited to avoid regional competition concerns. Concurrently, secured rights to the , broadcasting it annually from 1952 to 1988; the 1952 edition marked the first nationally televised game. These bowl rights provided with a marquee postseason property, often featuring high-profile matchups between Big Ten and Pac-10 (now Pac-12) champions under the longstanding bowl agreement. In the early , as the NCAA faced antitrust challenges over its centralized control of television rights, the College Football Association (CFA)—representing 61 major programs—negotiated a $180 million, four-year package with for prime-time regular-season games from 1982 to 1985. However, terminated the contract in December 1981 amid legal threats of sanctions from the NCAA, preventing its full implementation. The U.S. Supreme Court's 1984 ruling in NCAA v. Board of Regents dismantled the NCAA's monopoly on football telecasts, enabling schools and conferences to negotiate independently. In February 1990, Notre Dame signed the first major post-ruling deal with : a five-year worth $30 million for exclusive national broadcasts of its home games beginning in the 1991 season, allowing the independent Fighting Irish to retain full revenue control unlike conference-affiliated teams sharing pools. This agreement, renewed periodically through the 2000s (e.g., an eight-year extension in 2001 valued at approximately $120 million), positioned Notre Dame games as 's primary offering and generated dedicated revenue for the university's athletic and academic programs.

Current and Future Contracts

secured a seven-year media rights agreement with the in August 2022, effective from the 2023 football season through 2029, designating and Peacock as the exclusive broadcasters for Big Ten Saturday Night primetime games. Under this deal, airs 14-16 football games annually on its linear network, while Peacock streams eight additional games per season, focusing primarily on high-profile matchups to leverage 's primetime window. The arrangement, part of the Big Ten's broader $7 billion multimedia rights package shared with and , commits to approximately $350 million per year, emphasizing streaming integration via Peacock for overflow and exclusive content. In parallel, NBC Sports extended its historic exclusive partnership with the for home football games through the 2029 season, announced on November 17, 2023, ahead of the prior contract's 2025 expiration. This deal maintains global exclusivity for Notre Dame's home contests on and Peacock, building on a relationship dating to and incorporating enhanced production elements like advanced streaming and international distribution. While exact financial terms remain undisclosed, previous iterations of the agreement delivered Notre Dame roughly $22-25 million annually, with expectations of an increase to support the university's independent scheduling amid ACC affiliations for away games. No additional major college football rights acquisitions or extensions beyond these have been announced by NBC Sports as of October 2025, positioning the network to cover a mix of conference and independent games through the decade's end, subject to potential renegotiations influenced by evolving media valuations and conference realignments.

Production and Technology

Innovations in Coverage

NBC Sports pioneered the first televised college football game on September 30, 1939, broadcasting Fordham versus Waynesburg from New York's Triborough Stadium using two cameras relayed to 400 television sets in the area. This experimental transmission via NBC's W2XBS station marked the initial application of television technology to live football coverage, relying on primitive black-and-white signals without audio initially. In 1951, NBC achieved the first coast-to-coast live television broadcast of a college football game, airing Duke versus Pittsburgh on September 29, expanding national reach through coaxial cable networks that connected Eastern and Western time zones. By 1962, NBC introduced the first national color broadcast of a college football game with its coverage of the Rose Bowl, utilizing early color television standards to enhance visual detail for viewers equipped with compatible sets. NBC developed and deployed , a cable-suspended, computer-controlled camera system first operationalized in , which provided dynamic overhead perspectives in telecasts, including Notre Dame games where revised positioning improved field-level immersion without obstructing play. This innovation allowed for three-dimensional maneuvering over the field, capturing replays and angles unattainable by traditional cameras. In the 2020s, NBC integrated advanced production elements for Big Ten and Notre Dame coverage, including (HDR) image quality for enhanced contrast and color depth starting in the season, alongside aerial drones for supplementary shots during "Big Ten Saturday Night" games. Broadcasts employed up to 10 hard cameras, five point-of-view units, wireless SteadiCams, and for multifaceted viewing. NBC partnered with Cosm in 2025 to deliver in shared reality venues, enabling immersive, multi-perspective experiences beyond traditional screens for Big Ten and Notre Dame games. Concurrently, collaborations like the Tech Accelerator with Notre Dame tested digital tools for data and fan engagement, aiming to digitize aspects of game production and viewing. Cloud-based graphics ecosystems supported real-time updates, debuting elements inspired by Big Ten packages for scalable, high-resolution overlays.

Game Presentation and Graphics

NBC Sports' college football broadcasts utilize advanced production techniques to enhance viewer immersion, including (HDR) imaging for superior brightness, contrast, and color gamut since at least 2018 for Notre Dame home games. This technology extends to Big Ten Saturday Night packages, providing crystal-clear visuals in primetime matchups. Aerial drones supplement traditional camera setups, deployed in 13 of 14 Big Ten primetime games and four Notre Dame afternoon contests during the 2025 season to capture dynamic overhead angles and campus atmosphere shots. Each production incorporates 10 hard cameras, five point-of-view (POV) cameras, two handheld units, two wireless RF SteadiCams, a , and the drone, produced via mobile units like NEP's Supershooter 7 for Big Ten games. The graphics package, refreshed in 2023 to align with NBC's Big Ten rights acquisition, prioritizes team branding through bold colors, prominent 3D logos, and customized lower thirds to foster emotional fan connections while maintaining a clean, national-broadcast aesthetic. Score bugs employ a compact that minimizes on-screen intrusion, allowing greater focus on gameplay—a feature distinctive enough to draw comparisons when similar elements appeared in competitors' packages. Supporting this, launched a cloud-based in using Ross Video's XPression software and Game Creek Video's GCV Anywhere platform, enabling centralized , rapid design iterations, and scalable workflows across trucks and studios for Big Ten and affiliated regional coverage. This system reskins elements like score for consistency, building directly on the Big Ten football template.

On-Air Personnel

Field Announcers and Analysts

NBC Sports' field announcing teams for primarily cover home games and contests, with dedicated personnel for play-by-play, color analysis, and sideline reporting. The network's lead Big Ten Saturday Night team features play-by-play announcer , analyst , and sideline reporter , who returned for their third season together in 2025, with Blackledge entering his 32nd year calling . For select Big Ten games, veteran play-by-play voice Paul Burmeister pairs with rotating analysts throughout the regular season. Notre Dame broadcasts typically feature Dan Hicks on play-by-play, Jason Garrett as analyst, and Zora Stephenson on sideline duties for home games, a lineup in place for multiple seasons including 2025. Primetime Notre Dame matchups, such as those against Boise State on October 4, 2025, may shift to Eagle and Blackledge for elevated coverage. Garrett, a former NFL quarterback and head coach, provides strategic insights drawn from his playing and coaching experience, while Hicks brings over a decade of NBC tenure in the role.
Broadcast TeamPlay-by-PlayAnalystSideline ReporterCoverage Focus
Big Ten Saturday Night LeadPrimetime Big Ten games
Notre Dame PrimaryDan HicksZora StephensonHome games and select road contests
Alternate Big TenPaul BurmeisterRotating (e.g., )VariesSelect regular-season matchups
Analysts like Blackledge, a former Penn State standout and ESPN veteran prior to joining NBC in 2023, emphasize tactical breakdowns rooted in decades of game experience, while sideline reporters such as Tappen and Stephenson deliver real-time injury updates and coach interactions. These teams reflect NBC's strategy of blending seasoned broadcasters with football expertise to enhance viewer engagement across Peacock streaming and linear telecasts.

Studio and Pre-Game Talent

NBC Sports' pre-game studio programming for college football, primarily under the College Countdown banner, delivers previews, analysis, and insights ahead of Big Ten Saturday Night and Notre Dame Football broadcasts. The show airs on NBC and Peacock, featuring a core team that combines hosting experience, former player expertise, and journalistic reporting to cover matchups, player performances, and conference developments. This setup supports NBC's expanded rights package, which includes select Big Ten games and all Notre Dame home contests, emphasizing data-driven breakdowns and on-site reporting from game locations. As of the 2025 season, Ahmed Fareed serves as the lead host, drawing on his extensive background in sports broadcasting, including prior roles anchoring NBC's Olympic coverage and NFL studio shows, to guide discussions on game strategies and betting lines. Analyst Joshua Perry, a former Ohio State linebacker who played in the NFL for teams like the Indianapolis Colts, provides tactical insights from a defensive perspective, having joined NBC in 2017 after stints at ESPN and Fox Sports. College football insider Nicole Auerbach contributes reporting on recruiting, coaching changes, and off-field news, leveraging her experience as a beat writer for The Athletic and her coverage of major conferences since 2013. Jordan handles on-location hosting from the site of NBC's featured matchup each week, offering pre-game atmosphere and fan interactions; a former Purdue forward and analyst, Cornette transitioned to in 2023 to enhance the remote studio element. Guest analysts, such as former NFL Matt or 's Chris , occasionally join for specialized commentary on play and offensive schemes, reflecting 's strategy to rotate expertise based on weekly storylines. This talent configuration evolved from earlier lineups, including Maria Taylor's hosting role in 2023, to prioritize continuity and depth amid 's growing Big Ten footprint starting in 2023.

Reception and Impact

Achievements and Viewer Metrics

NBC Sports' longstanding exclusive broadcast rights to home football games, held since 1991, have generated consistent viewership metrics highlighting the program's draw as an independent team. Through the early weeks of the 2025 season, Notre Dame games averaged 4.995 million viewers across and Peacock platforms. The September 2025 Notre Dame-Texas A&M contest marked a standout, averaging 6.2 million viewers with a peak audience of 9.4 million, bolstered by streaming contributions. In addition to Notre Dame, NBC's Big Ten Conference Saturday night package, acquired starting in the 2023 season, has delivered solid but variable audiences amid expanded conference competition. The 2023 Big Ten games on NBC (excluding Notre Dame telecasts) averaged a 1.3 household rating and 2.40 million viewers, contributing to NBC's overall college football average of 1.5 rating and 2.80 million viewers that year. A 2025 example, Michigan-USC, drew 4.3 million viewers, reflecting prime-time appeal for marquee matchups. These metrics underscore NBC's role in capturing for high-profile games, though they trail SEC-dominated broadcasts in raw numbers due to regional and popularity differences. No specific broadcast awards for NBC's production were prominent in recent Sports Emmy recognitions, which favored broader sports coverage like packages.

Criticisms and Controversies

NBC Sports' broadcasts have drawn criticism for the perceived quality of its announcing teams, particularly in coverage of Notre Dame games. The play-by-play duo of and faced significant backlash on following the October 14, 2023, Notre Dame-USC matchup, with viewers accusing them of lackluster analysis and poor pacing. Broader commentary has questioned whether NBC's investment in Big Ten and Notre Dame rights—reportedly exceeding $7 billion for the through 2029–2030—has been matched by announcer talent, citing instances of uninspired commentary amid high-stakes games. Production decisions have also sparked controversies, including scheduling conflicts and platform shifts. On September 20, 2025, fans expressed outrage over 's choice to prioritize a late-running game, which delayed or affected coverage of the Illinois-Indiana contest, highlighting frustrations with network flex scheduling in the Big Ten package. Similarly, during the September 21, 2025, Notre Dame-Purdue game, initially planned to stream the matchup exclusively on Peacock due to weather delays in another broadcast, prompting backlash from fans unwilling to subscribe; reversed course and aired it on linear television. These incidents underscore ongoing tensions between traditional over-the-air expectations and 's streaming integration. Technical aspects of coverage have elicited complaints, notably a 2019 experiment with a sideline as the primary angle for Notre Dame games, which drew ire for distorting play visibility and viewer experience despite NBC's pre-game warnings. Additionally, NBC's rules analyst publicly critiqued officiating in broadcasts, such as labeling a pass interference non-call in the October 11, 2025, NC State-Notre Dame game as one of the "worst" reviews he had seen, amplifying debates over replay accuracy during NBC-aired contests—though this reflects internal analysis rather than direct criticism of the network.

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