How to watch college football in 2026

No single service carries all of college football. The 2026 season started on Aug. 29 with North Carolina against TCU in Dublin on ESPN, and on a normal Saturday the games are spread across more than a dozen channels and several apps. This guide sorts them by conference and network, then lists the conference title games and the College Football Playoff schedule.

Which network has which conference

Conference	Main TV homes	Streaming
SEC	ABC, ESPN, SEC Network	ESPN app
Big Ten	FOX, FS1, Big Ten Network, CBS, NBC	FOX One, Paramount+, Peacock
ACC	ABC, ESPN, ACC Network, The CW	ESPN app
Big 12	ABC, ESPN, FOX, FS1, TNT	ESPN app, FOX One, HBO Max
Notre Dame	NBC, some on ABC	Peacock, ESPN app
Mountain West and Pac-12	The CW, FOX, CBS, USA Network	ESPN app (CW games), Paramount+

The numbers behind that table come from the networks' own schedule announcements in May. ESPN's networks carry more than 1,000 games, all streaming on the ESPN app. FOX has 137 games across FOX, FS1 and the Big Ten Network, 89 of them Big Ten games, anchored by Big Noon Kickoff. CBS has 14 Big Ten games in its 3:30 p.m. ET window plus the three service academy games for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, with Army-Navy at MetLife Stadium. NBC has Big Ten games and Notre Dame's primetime games, including Miami on Nov. 7 and SMU on Nov. 21. The CW has about 140 hours of ACC, Mountain West and Pac-12 football, and USA Network has a 22-game Pac-12 schedule.

A typical Saturday

Week 7 shows how spread out it gets. On Saturday, Oct. 17, Sports Media Watch lists Ohio State-Indiana on FOX and Florida-Texas on ABC at noon ET, Penn State-Michigan on CBS and Alabama-Tennessee on ABC at 3:30 p.m., and Wisconsin-UCLA on NBC and Notre Dame-BYU on ABC at 7:30 p.m. Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech is on the ACC Network at 3:30, TCU-Baylor is on FS1 at 7, and Kentucky-Oklahoma is on the SEC Network at 7:30. To see all of those you would need ESPN, FOX, CBS and NBC, and the cable channels that go with them.

There are weeknight games too. Most Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday games are on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or CBS Sports Network, and FOX has some Friday games, such as Washington-Purdue on Oct. 16.

The apps and what they cost

App	Price	College football on it
ESPN Unlimited	About $32 a month	ESPN networks and The CW games
FOX One	$19.99 a month	FOX, FS1, Big Ten Network
Paramount+ Premium	$13.99 a month	Live local CBS station
Peacock Premium	$12.99 a month	NBC games and Peacock-only games
HBO Max Standard	$18.49 a month	TNT games, including playoff games

ESPN raised its prices on Sept. 17, and Peacock raised its prices on Aug. 18. On Paramount+, the $8.99 Essential plan does not include the live local CBS feed, so CBS games need Premium. On HBO Max, the Basic with Ads plan does not include live sports.

A live TV streaming service such as YouTube TV or Fubo puts the broadcast networks and the main sports channels in one bill, which is often simpler than four separate apps during the season. Check that the package you choose includes the SEC Network, ACC Network and Big Ten Network if your team plays in one of those conferences.

Your conference decides most of it. An SEC fan can see nearly every game with ESPN alone, since ABC, ESPN and the SEC Network are all Disney channels. A Big Ten fan needs the most: FOX One for FOX, FS1 and the Big Ten Network, Paramount+ for the CBS games and Peacock for the NBC games. Big 12 fans need ESPN and FOX, plus HBO Max for the TNT games.

Free options

Many of the biggest games each Saturday air on ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC, and those stations are free over the air with an antenna. In Week 7 that covers Ohio State-Indiana, Penn State-Michigan, Alabama-Tennessee, Wisconsin-UCLA and Notre Dame-BYU. The College Football Playoff semifinal and national championship on ABC are free over the air too.

Conference championship weekend

The title games are on Dec. 4 and 5:

• Friday, Dec. 4: Big 12 at AT&T Stadium, 8 p.m. ET, ABC; Mountain West, 9 p.m. ET, FOX; Pac-12, 5 p.m. PT, CBS and Paramount+; Sun Belt, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
• Saturday, Dec. 5: ACC in Charlotte, noon ET, ABC; MAC in Detroit, noon, ESPN; SEC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, 4 p.m., ABC; Big Ten at Lucas Oil Stadium, 8 p.m. ET, FOX; American in primetime on ABC

The College Football Playoff

The 12-team playoff field is set on Selection Day, Sunday, Dec. 6. ESPN and TNT share the games, and every TNT game is on TNT, truTV and HBO Max.

Round	Date	Time (ET) and network
First round	Fri., Dec. 18	8 p.m., ESPN
First round	Sat., Dec. 19	Noon ABC/ESPN; 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. TNT
Quarterfinal, Fiesta Bowl	Wed., Dec. 30	7:30 p.m., TNT
Quarterfinals, Peach, Rose and Cotton Bowls	Fri., Jan. 1	Noon TNT; 4 p.m. ABC/ESPN; 8 p.m. ESPN
Semifinal, Orange Bowl	Thu., Jan. 14	7:30 p.m., TNT
Semifinal, Sugar Bowl	Fri., Jan. 15	7:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN
National championship	Mon., Jan. 25	7:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN

First-round games are played on campus, and the sites are announced on Dec. 6. The order of the three New Year's Day quarterfinals is also set on Selection Day. The championship game is at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Keeping track of the schedule

CrackStreams lists the day's college games and kickoff times on its college football page, so you can check the slate before deciding which app to open. For Sundays, see our NFL guide.