‘Tis the Season for College Football: ESPN’s On-Site Studio Presence Complements Extensive, Exclusive Coverage of College Football Playoff Semifinals and New Year’s Six

• New this Year: ESPN+ Adds All-Access Series Following Clemson, LSU, Ohio State, and Oklahoma’s Preparation for CFP Semifinals; Continues through the CFP National Championship
• Set Presence in Atlanta, Glendale, Ariz., New Orleans, and Pasadena, Calif.
• College GameDay Built by The Home Depot from PlayStation Fiesta Bowl
  

ESPN’s exclusive presentation of the College Football Playoff and the New Year’s Six will include on-site studio presence across the country. From Glendale, Ariz., to Atlanta to Pasadena, Calif. and New Orleans, ESPN hosts, analysts and reporters will bring fans through bowl week leading up to the games to capture the atmosphere and excitement. Additionally, a new all-access series, available only on ESPN+, will give fans a look into the preparation and journey for each of the four teams through the College Football Playoff, as No. 1 LSU faces No. 4 Oklahoma in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, and No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Clemson in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.

Additional Announcement: ESPN will offer 10 presentations of both College Football Playoff Semifinals

ESPN will have reporters on-site at both CFP Semifinals, beginning Sunday, Dec. 22, as Marty Smith is at the Peach and Alyssa Lang covers the Fiesta. Game reporters Laura Rutledge and Holly Rowe will be on-site in Atlanta, with Tom Rinaldi and Maria Taylor in Glendale, Ariz., beginning on Thursday, Dec. 26, as ESPN ramps up its programing with the airing of Media Day from both CFP Semifinals on ESPNU, beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET.

ESPN’s set presence begins Friday, Dec. 27, and continues through New Year’s Day at four different locations. College GameDay Built by The Home Depot, college football’s premier traveling pregame show, will head to the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, airing on Saturday, Dec. 28 (9 a.m. – noon ET), ahead of ESPN’s coverage of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 16 Memphis) and CFP semifinals. Host Rece Davis will be joined by analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack, along with Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica, Gene Wojciechowski, Tom Rinaldi and Maria Taylor inside State Farm Stadium.

The crew will then travel to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual, airing a special edition on New Year’s Day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The GameDay crew and other commentators will also contribute to shows throughout the week, including Get Up, First Take and SportsCenter.

ESPN+ All-Access Series to Showcase Journey of the Four CFP Teams
New this year, ESPN+ will carry College Football Playoff coverage, with a four part, all-access series, debuting the Dec. 24, and continuing through the College Football Playoff National Championship. Viewers can get a glimpse into each of the top four team’s preparation leading up to and through the semifinals and national championship. Following the first episode, the remaining three episodes will be available each of the following dates – December 31, Jan. 9 and Jan. 16. Sport & Story and Jim Jorden Productions will produce the series.

CFP Quarterback Conversations
Before on-site coverage begins, ESPN reporters sat down with CFP Playoff quarterbacks for one-on-one conversations that will air this weekend across SportsCenter and College GameDay including Gene Wojciechowski with Joe Burrow (LSU) and Jalen Hurts (Oklahoma) and Maria Taylor with Trevor Lawrence (Clemson). Reporters Marty Smith and Wojciechowski also sat down with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and LSU head coach Ed Orgeron.