The CW Network agreed to a deal with the Atlantic Coast Conference in which it obtained media rights for 50 college football and basketball games within the conference in each season through 2026-27. Additionally, the broadcast network will televise Pac-12 home football games featuring Oregon State and Washington State football programs produced by Pac-12 Enterprises. The CW is preparing for another season of college football broadcasts and is introducing a new studio program, CW Football Saturday, slated to make its debut on Saturday, Aug. 31.
“The second season of college football on The CW will be bigger than ever with coast-to-coast coverage of powerhouse teams from the ACC and Pac-12 conferences,” Dennis Miller, president of The CW Network, said in a statement. “With the addition of the new live studio preshow and a roster of expert commentators, reporters and analysts, The CW is poised to become a premier college football destination on broadcast television for fans every Saturday this fall.”
The network announced that Thom Brennaman will serve as the lead play-by-play announcer for ACC games on The CW and select Pac-12 contests as well, granting him another chance in sports media after he was fired four years ago for vocalizing a homophobic slur on a hot microphone during a Cincinnati Reds broadcast. Brennaman explained that he was grateful for the opportunity and has been working on listening to people in trying to learn from the mistakes that he made, according to an article that broke the news from Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.
Brennaman will be joined by analyst Max Browne and sideline reporter Treavor Scales on these broadcasts, both of whom have athletic experience within college football. Browne is a former college quarterback and analyst for Pac-12 Networks, and Scales is a four-time All-Ivy running back and current pregame and postgame show host for the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks.
Ted Robinson will serve as the play-by-play announcer on Pac-12 games on The CW with analyst Chase Daniel and sideline reporter Nigel Burton. Robinson was formerly the lead play-by-play announcer for football and men’s basketball broadcasts on Pac-12 Networks, which ceased operations on June 30 after 12 years on the air. Daniel is a former college quarterback at the University of Missouri who retired from the NFL in 2023 and has since served as a studio analyst for NFL Network and co-host of the Chasin’ It podcast with Trey Wingo. Burton was the head coach of the Portland State Vikings for five years and recently served as a football analyst on Pac-12 Networks programming and live game broadcasts.
Pac-12 “After Dark” games will feature a broadcast team of play-by-play announcer J.B. Long, analyst Michael Bumpus and sideline reporters Camryn Irwin and Heidi Watney. Long is the radio voice of the Los Angeles Rams and a founding member of Bleacher Report, while Bumpus is the lead host for radio broadcasts of Seattle Seahawks games and co-host of Bump and Stacy on Seattle Sports. Irwin is a host for the Los Angeles Rams and has previously worked with Pac-12 Networks and Amazon Prime Video, and Watney is a reporter for Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV+ and former MLB Network host.
The CW Football Saturday studio show will be hosted by Mike Yam and feature a rotating panel of expert analysts. Pac-12 Enterprises will produce the studio show and all Pac-12 games for The CW, while Raycom Sports will produce all ACC games on The CW.
The Pac-12 Conference contains two teams after it was unable to come to terms on a new media rights deal upon the expiration of a 12-year contract with ESPN and FOX Sports. Earlier in the year, the conference signed a one-year national television deal with The CW and FOX to televise a majority of home games for both Oregon State and Washington State.
