National Networks Unveil Programming Plans for College Football Season

In 2012, college football will enjoy its most broadcast season yet. With the expanded roles of Fox Sports Media Group and NBC Sports Group, as well as increased game totals on CBS and ESPN/ABC, more games than ever will be stuffed into the programming schedule – and not just on Saturdays. Networks will integrate more of their sub-channels into their coverage meaning that when the season kicks off on Sept. 1, fans will have plenty of options at their beck and call.

CBS Sports
CBS Sports kicks off its 12th consecutive season of national coverage of Southeastern Conference Football on Saturday, Sept. 15 (3:30-7:00 PM, ET). In its fourth year of a 15-year agreement with the SEC, CBS Sports continues to be the exclusive national network broadcaster of SEC home football games, including the SEC Championship Game. In showcasing the top conference match-ups in the package, CBS Sports will broadcast the “SEC Game of the Week.”

The SEC ON CBS schedule features a total of 15 games during the network’s 12-week season, highlighted by a rematch of Alabama vs. LSU in prime time on Saturday, Nov. 3 (8 p.m., ET), as well as the SEC Championship on Saturday, Dec. 1.  CBS Sports kicks off the season on Saturday, Sept. 1 (9 a.m., ET) with Notre Dame vs. Navy from Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.  In addition to the SEC, CBS Sports also will broadcast Navy at Air Force for the second consecutive year on Saturday, Oct. 6 (11:30 AM, ET), the annual Army-Navy game on Saturday, Dec. 8 and the 78th 
Sun Bowl on Monday, Dec. 31.

Additional schedule highlights include  Georgia vs. Florida on Oct. 27 (3:30 p.m. ET), SEC doubleheaders on Nov. 3 and Nov. 10, and LSU at Arkansas on Nov. 23 (2:30 p.m. ET). All other “SEC Games of the Week” will be announced six-to-12 days prior to their broadcast date.

Craig Silver serves as coordinating producer and Steve Milton is the lead director for the Network’s college football broadcasts.  Vin DeVito serves as producer and Linda Malino as director for COLLEGE FOOTBALL TODAY, which originates from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.  Harold Bryant is Executive Producer and Vice President, Production, CBS Sports.

FOX Sports Media Group
FOX Sports Media Group’s college football coverage reaches new heights with more than 165 games airing nationally across FOX, FX, FOX Sports Networks (FSN), Big Ten Network (BTN) and FOX College Sports.

The master schedule features teams from the Pac-12, Big 12,  Conference USA and Big Ten (on BTN), as well as regional match-ups from the ACC, SEC, Big East, Big Sky, WAC and Southland Conferences. Week 1 action begins Saturday, Sept. 1 with seven match-ups highlighted by the debut of FOX Sports’ first-ever regular-season over-the-air college football package.  The schedule culminates with coverage of the Pac-12 Football Championship Game, Big Ten Football Championship Game and AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic all airing in primetime on FOX.

On Sept. 1, FOX Sports kicks off 13 consecutive weeks of regular-season coverage on its mothership channel, including 12 prime time games and seven doubleheaders. USC will begin its national title hunt when it hosts Hawai’i  (7:30 p.m. ET). First-year head coach Jim Mora takes the field Saturday, Sept. 8 (7:30 p.m. ET) when UCLA hosts Nebraska from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA.  USC ais back on FOX Week 3 when the Trojans travel to Stanford on Saturday, Sept. 15 (7:30 p.m. ET).

On FSN, Oklahoma faces UTEP on Saturday, Sept. 1 (10:30 p.m. ET). Other marquee match-ups include Colorado vs. Colorado St. from Sports Authority Field at Mile High on Sept. 1 (4 p.m. ET) and Wisconsin at Oregon St. on Saturday, Sept. 8 (4 p.m. ET) on FX.  These games headline doubleheader coverage on FX for the first five weeks of the season.

Coming off its most successful season yet, with record ratings and 16 games featuring a top 25-ranked team, BTN airs 15 Big Ten games during the first three weekends of the 2012 season, including Ohio State vs. Wisconsin Badgers. Overall, BTN televises over 40 football games this fall, again ensuring that all Big Ten home football games are televised nationally.

Additionally, FOX Sports boasts exclusive coverage of college football’s Pac-12 Conference Football Championship Game on Friday, November 30 (8 p.m. ET) followed by the Big Ten Conference Football Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 1 (8 p.m. ET) from Indianapolis.  FOX Sports wraps up its 2012-13 campaign with a Big 12/SEC match-up in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic from Cowboys Stadium on Friday, Jan. 4 (8 p.m. ET).

NBC Sports Group
NBC and NBC Sports Network will combine to televise 32 college football games during the 2012 season, beginning with a triple-header on Saturday, Sept. 8.

The combined NBC and the NBC Sports Network 2012 college football schedule is comprised of Notre Dame home games; games from the Mountain West Conference, the Colonial Athletic Association, and the Ivy League; the annual Bayou Classic between Grambling State and Southern, which NBC has broadcast every year since 1991; and the Atlanta Football Classic, this year between Florida A&M and Southern, which NBC Sports Network has televised since 2008.

Coverage begins on Saturday, Sept. 8, with Purdue at Notre Dame on NBC at 3:30 p.m. ET and Delaware State at Delaware (CAA) at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. Later that night, NBC Sports Network will air Army at San Diego State (MWC) at 7:30 p.m. ET. The first Ivy League telecasts air on NBC Sports Network on Saturday, Sept. 22, when Cornell hosts Yale at 1 p.m. ET followed by defending champion Harvard at Brown at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The NBC and NBC Sports Network 2012 college football schedule includes seven Notre Dame games, 10 Mountain West Conference games, six Colonial Athletic Association games, seven Ivy League games, plus the Bayou Classic and Atlanta Football Classic.

Highlights of the 2012 College Football schedule include seven primetime/nighttime games, including Army at San Diego State on Sept. 8 on NBC Sports Network and Michigan at Notre Dame on Sept. 22 on NBC. There will also be three quadruple-headers on Sept. 22, Nov. 10 (all on NBC Sports Network) and Nov. 17, which includes The Game: Yale at Harvard which airs at Noon ET on NBC Sports Network on Saturday, Nov. 17.

ESPN/ABC
ESPN – entering the first year of a new 12-year agreement with the Pac-12 Conference – selected 12 Pac-12 college football games for telecasts across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2 and ESPNU. Combined with previously announced games, 10 of the 12 Pac-12 institutions are now represented in the schedule to date. Additional games will be announced as the season progresses.

The early selections include multiple games involving USC and Oregon, the No. 1 and No. 4 teams in a preseason College Football Live preseason top 25 poll, respectively: No. 1 USC twice: at Utah (Thursday, Oct. 4, at 9 p.m. on ESPN) and against No. 24 Notre Dame (Saturday, Nov. 24, on ABC or ESPN); No. 4 Oregon three times:  against Arkansas State (Saturday, Sept. 1, at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN), against Arizona (Saturday, Sept. 22, on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2) and at Arizona State (Thursday, Oct. 18, at 9 p.m. on ESPN).

ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to televise six weeknight Pac-12 games: four consecutive Thursday ESPN College Football Primetime telecasts, highlighted by three games involving a preseason ranked team and Arizona State making consecutive appearances. ESPN and ESPN2 will each also  air a Friday night telecast in November. ABC or ESPN will televise Notre Dame at USC on Saturday, Nov. 24. Other traditional rivalry games include the Holy War between BYU and Utah (Saturday, Sept. 15, at 10 p.m. on ESPN2) and the Territorial Cup matching Arizona State against Arizona (Friday, Nov. 23, at 10 p.m. on ESPN).