As well, I expect the CFP to be exclusive to ESPN networks in the first two years of the 12-team playoff, with the possibility of some games on ABC.
I would like more of the CFP, if not all, on broadcast TV starting in 2026. Each of the Big 4 networks could air one game in each of the first two rounds, with Fox never airing on Fridays due to Smackdown.
The semifinals and NCG could rotate among the four networks too, with the last two rounds always airing on the same network. It hasn't been since 1997 that the iconic CBS CFB theme be used on a major bowl game.
It's been over a decade that major bowls have been exclusive to cable, time to reverse that trend in stages.
That part won’t happen. Z’s theory makes sense, but Army and Navy want that standalone weekend. They will always be the bye week between the CCGs and the first round.
And if Navy qualifies for the CCG of The American, that would take precedence over playing Army on Thanksgiving week. So that game has to be a week after the CCGs.
Furthermore, if the Rose and Sugar Bowls are the semis in a season Fox has them and January 1 is a Friday, the games get moved to January 2 to accommodate Smackdown. Likewise, the Tournament of Roses Parade gets moved to January 2.