ESPN’s ESPN’s Signature College Football Playoff MegaCast Returns for 10th Year with Nearly 40 Presentations Across Multiple Platforms

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ESPN’s signature College Football playoff MegaCast presentation returns for its tenth year with nearly 40 presentations across New Year’s Six, Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show, and semifinal alternate offerings.

What’s Happening:

  • ESPN will present 10 offerings of each College Football Playoff Semifinal on New Year’s Day, courtesy of the network’s signature CFP MegaCast production. In total, more than three dozen different presentations of the six preeminent bowls will be available, peaking with the CFP Semifinals as the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential presents No. 1 Michigan and No. 4 Alabama (5 p.m. ET) and the Allstate Sugar Bowl showcases No. 2 Washington and No. 3 Texas (8:45 p.m.).
  • ESPN’s entire offering of the New Year’s Six is a preview of its unparalleled presentation of the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T on Monday, Jan. 8, at 7:30 p.m.
  • Additional New Year’s Six Matchups:
    • Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 9 Missouri vs. No. 7 Ohio State (Friday, Dec. 29 | 8 p.m.)
    • Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: No. 11 Ole Miss vs. No. 10 Penn State (Saturday, Dec. 30 | Noon)
    • Capital One Orange Bowl: No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 5 Florida State (Saturday, Dec. 30 | 4 p.m.)
    • Vrbo Fiesta Bowl: No. 23 Liberty vs. No. 8 Oregon (Monday, Jan. 1 | 1 p.m.)
  • For the second straight season, the MegaCast fan favorite Field Pass returns on ESPN2. Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show will offer entertaining, free-flowing commentary of both CFP Semifinals, anchored by Pat McAfee, who will roam the sidelines of Rose Bowl Stadium. McAfee will call the action from the unique vantage point while being joined by a rotation of ESPN analysts, notable personalities, and celebrities throughout the game. From the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential, AJ Hawk, Darius Butler, Anthony DiGuilio, Connor Campbell and Ty Schmit are set to join McAfee in Pasadena. In New Orleans, ESPN personalities Cole Cubelic and Harry Douglas will team up for Field Pass with a pair of Texas Exes, ESPN analyst Sam Acho and former Longhorn quarterback Colt McCoy for the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
  • The College Football Playoff Semifinals MegaCast kicks off with ESPN airing the traditional telecast, which features the network’s innovative technology combined with unique vantage points, providing fans with a state-of-the-art presentation. More than 50 cameras will be deployed inside Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif. and Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Featured in at least one of the CFP semifinals will be:
    • Eight End Zone Pylon Cams: Cameras inside all eight endzone pylons
    • Line-to-Gain Pylon: Wireless pylons on both sidelines at the first down line
    • Ref Cams: Camera connected to multiple referees’ hats
    • Goal Post Cam: Great looks from the back of the endzone
    • Goal Line Robotic Cams: Perfect look down the goal line
    • Wireless Handheld Cam: Sony Fx3 on Ronin Gimbal for on-field celebrations following scoring plays
  • Additional Alternate Presentations (all available on the ESPN App):
    • Command Center (ESPNU): A multi-angle presentation, which includes up to four different vantage points at any one time, with real-time player and team statistics supplementing the game action.
    • SkyCast (ESPNEWS): The popular view from above the action and behind the offense on most plays. This unique angle has long been one of ESPN’s alternate viewing options and is readily available on multiple games every week. Replays will be shown every time the main telecast shows a replay, while never losing the look from Skycam.
    • All-22 (ESPN App): Watch the game the same way players and coaches study film, with a vantage point high above the field of play. The angle allows for the 22 players on the field to be seen at all times, providing the ability to distinguish how plays develop while listening to the ESPN Radio call.
  • For the third consecutive year, the halftime marching band performances at the College Football Playoff Semifinals at the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential and Allstate Sugar Bowl will be available on the ESPN App. Returning this year is coverage of pre-game marching band performances from both semifinals. The sights and sounds of the Michigan Marching Band, Alabama’s Million Dollar Band, Washington’s Husky Marching Band and University of Texas Longhorn Band will be streaming live from their respective College Football Playoff semifinals via the All-22 view.
  • Both Command Center and SkyCast will also be available on the ESPN App for the Capital One Orange Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, as ESPN provides its premium multi-platform presentations of the New Year’s Six. In addition, the Command Center for the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl will be live on ESPNU and the Capital One Orange Bowl Command Center will be simulcast on ACC Network.
  • This postseason, fans can catch the entire New Year’s Six, including the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential and the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl, as well as the sport’s pinnacle, the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T, at select U.S. theatres thanks to ESPN and Theatre Sports Network. To find your local listings, please visit TheaterSportsNetwork.com.
  • In addition to multiple presentations, fans will be able to hear the call of the CFP Semifinals from a multitude of broadcast teams:
    • Main Telecast (ESPN): ESPN’s lead Saturday Night Football crew of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe will be joined by Laura Rutledge in Pasadena for the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential. In primetime, Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Molly McGrath and Katie George will call the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
    • ESPN Radio (ESPN App): The broadcast is available throughout the country on more than 400 ESPN Radio stations, the ESPN App, ESPNRadio.com, SiriusXM, Apple Music, iHeartRadio and TuneIn.
      • Rose Bowl Game: Joe Tessitore, Dusty Dvoracek, Quint Kessenich
      • Sugar Bowl: Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer, Ian Fitzsimmons
    • Hometown Audio Feed: Fans can listen to the local radio broadcast of each of the four teams, with their audio feed synced up with ESPN’s presentation. This MegaCast feed is made possible in conjunction with the Crimson Tide Sports Network Powered by LEARFIELD, the Wolverines Sports Network Powered by LEARFIELD, the Huskies Sports Network from LEARFIELD, and the Longhorn Radio Network Powered by LEARFIELD.
      • Michigan (ESPN App): Doug Karsch, Jon Jansen and Jason Avant
      • Alabama (SEC Network & ESPN App): Chris Stewart, Tyler Watts and Christian Miller
        • Further details regarding SEC Network’s coverage from the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential will be announced next week.
      • Washington (ESPN App): Tony Castricone, Cameron Cleeland, Elise Woodward
      • Texas (Longhorn Network & ESPN App): Craig Way, Roger Wallace, Will Matthews
        • Texas GameDay Presented by St. David’s HealthCare and Texas GameDay Final Presented by Postmates will be live from the Caesars Superdome to showcase the Longhorns’ debut appearance in the College Football Playoff. Pre-game, halftime and post-game studio coverage will be available on Longhorn Network and ESPN3.
    • ESPN Deportes (ESPN App): Spanish-language call featuring Eduardo Varela and Pablo Viruega for the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential, and Ciro Procuna and Ramiro Pruneda for the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
  • To help get fans ready for the upcoming College Football Playoff, ESPN+ will exclusively stream four episodes of Inside the College Football Playoff, featuring an inside look at Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama as they battle to claim the ultimate prize: a national championship.
  • The episodes will debut starting on December 22. The full schedule is below:
    • Episode 1 – December 22: Look back at each team’s incredible journey to reach this year’s College Football Playoff.
    • Episode 2 – December 29: Go behind-the-scenes as Alabama, Texas, Washington, and Michigan prepare for the 2024 CFP semifinals.
    • Episode 3 – January 5: Michigan takes on Alabama in the Rose Bowl before Washington and Texas battle in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.
    • Episode 4 – January 12: The National Championship gets underway as the final two teams fight for a chance at football immortality.

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Tony Betti
Originally from California where he studied a dying artform (hand-drawn animation), Tony has spent most of his adult life in the theme parks of Orlando. When he’s not writing for LP, he’s usually watching and studying something animated or arguing about “the good ole’ days” at the parks.
View all articles by Tony Betti