Credit: DisneyThere is plenty of controversy to go around when talking about The Walt Disney Company.
The Walt Disney Company, founded by Walt and Roy O. Disney in 1923, has become synonymous with family entertainment across the globe. From its humble beginnings as an animation studio to its current status as a multimedia conglomerate, Disney has shaped the landscape of entertainment for nearly a century. With iconic characters like Mickey Mouse, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), and The Lion King (1994), Disney has captured the hearts of audiences spanning generations, creating timeless classics that continue to enchant audiences worldwide.
Beyond its beloved animated films, Disney’s influence extends far beyond the realms of fairy tales and fantasy. In a surprising turn, many may not realize that Disney also holds a significant stake in the world of sports entertainment. Through strategic acquisitions, Disney now owns ESPN, the self-proclaimed “Worldwide Leader in Sports.” Acquiring ESPN in 1996 expanded Disney’s reach into live sports broadcasting, making it a dominant force not just in entertainment, but also in the realm of athletics.
Just recently, Disney struck a deal to be the exclusive television network for the expanded College Football Playoff. For those who don’t know, the CFP was expanded from four teams to 12 teams, and there are already discussions for the playoff to once again expand, this time to 14. The television contract, worth $7.8 billion, will keep the College Football Playoff on ESPN through the 2031-32 season.
Pat McAfee, one of the most popular voices on ESPN, recently took to his show to congratulate Disney, including CEO Bob Iger, on getting the deal done and said that Disney as a company “loves this sport of college football.”
“Congrats to Jimmy Pitaro, congrats to Burke Magness, congrats to Bob Iger. ESPN is the home of college football because we love college football. We don’t care if there’s other networks broadcasting other conferences and they were able to make better deals with other conferences because we think that just makes college football better and we love this sport of college football. ESPN willing to invest $8 billion into this,” he said.
Disney facing controversy over new agreement
Disney and ESPN’s investment, of course, doesn’t come without controversy.
ESPN has been lambasted for years over its apparent “SEC bias,” and this has especially come to fruition in new television deals struck with the SEC moving forward. The company’s television agreement for the CFP now is even more favorable for the SEC and Big Ten, who will split 58% of the revenue from the playoff, while the ACC and Big 12 will split just 32%.
There were already grievances in place, but this decision by ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips to go along with such a split has allegedly angered even more schools inside the conference, which are reportedly held inside the ACC due to a grant of rights agreement that no one is allowed to have a copy of. As a result, both Florida State and Clemson have filed lawsuits against the ACC to test the strength of the grant of rights.
While many other lesser schools may not find a home in the “Power 2” that is comprised of the SEC and Big Ten, most insiders feel confident in saying that both FSU and Clemson, as well as potentially a couple of other schools, would land in the bigger conferences if they were to get out of the ACC’s grant of rights deal. The brand recognition and success of both Clemson and FSU have been displayed for well over the last decade, so it would be far-reaching for anyone to believe that the two wouldn’t already have confidence that they’d find a new home before submitting the lawsuit.
Despite the controversy that the television revenue– as well as NIL and reported tampering in the Transfer Portal– there is still a sense of excitement over next year’s College Football season, which will be the inaugural year of the 12-team playoff.
Currently, the 12-team playoff will allow for five automatic qualifiers. The five highest-ranked conference champions will be included as automatic bids, with the four highest-ranked champions landing a bye through the first round. After that, seven teams will be selected as wild cards. The overarching belief is that the vast majority of these teams– likely at least six of the seven bids– will come from either the SEC or the Big Ten.
The first round of the CFP will be hosted at home stadiums of the higher-seeded team. The second round– which is also the quarterfinals– will have four games, each in a different bowl location. The locations for 2024 are the VRBO Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Allstate Sugar Bowl. The semifinals will take place at the Capital One Orange Bowl and Good Year Cotton Bowl. Finally, the College Football National Championship game will take place in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 20, 2025.