TNT Sports granted control of ad sales for sublicensed CFP games

Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

TNT Sports is expanding its sublicense agreement with ESPN for the College Football Playoff. As the network previously announced, beginning this year, TNT Sports will air two quarterfinal games and one semifinal game in addition to the two first-round games it previously sublicensed from ESPN.

And as it would turn out, the expanded sublicense agreement goes beyond the additional inventory.

According to a report by Anthony Crupi in Sportico last week, TNT Sports will be given the ability to sell advertising against its College Football Playoff inventory beginning this year. Under the prior sublicense arrangement, ESPN sold ads and retained the ad revenue from the first-round games broadcast by TNT Sports.

The news is significant as TNT Sports enters Upfront season, where networks look to woo advertisers with fancy presentations and hors d’oeuvres in hopes of securing ad sales. The College Football Playoff will certainly be a centerpiece in TNT Sports’ presentation next month, especially with the added inventory.

Per Crupi, the revenue generated from ad sales for a semifinal game is quite significant. A 30-second spot can run for between $700,000 and $750,000 a pop, with total sales for the game hovering around the $60 million mark. Add in the two quarterfinal games and two first-round games, and TNT Sports is looking at a sizable chunk of change.

With TNT going without the NBA for the first time since 1989, the College Football Playoff is likely the network’s best opportunity to sell advertising against its sports programming. Importantly, the network can use the playoff to assure guaranteed buys from advertisers on its other sports properties, like MLB, NHL, or the French Open. Networks commonly leverage their best events to package advertising for their less desirable properties.