Kickoff Time: What This Season's College Football Shakeups Mean for Media, Money

College football's 2026-'27 season is here — and with it comes a landscape reshaped by realignment, billion-dollar media deals, and mounting legal battles over athlete compensation. In this episode of "MediaTalk," S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan analysts Justin Nielson, Scott Robson and Michael Johnson join host Mike Reynolds to break down what business leaders and media executives need to know heading into the season. Three key questions this episode answers: How are conference realignment and media rights deals reshaping college football's competitive and financial landscape? From the reshuffled Pac-12 and Mountain West to the Big Ten's $8 billion windfall and the SEC's $710 million annual ESPN payout, the money is moving fast. What's next for the College Football Playoff, and how will expansion affect viewership and network competition? With ESPN's $7.8 billion extension and TNT's expanded footprint, the stakes — and the audiences — keep growing. How are NIL rules, transfer portal litigation, and new legislation like the Protect College Sports Act reshaping player economics? Get ahead of the legal and financial shifts redefining amateur athletics. Plus: bold championship predictions from all four experts. Tune in before Week Zero kicks off. More S&P Global content: Navigating the Chaos of Sports Media Rights Fragmentation Maximizing Sports Media Rights Value: Benchmarking, Negotiation, & Market Intelligence in 2026 Featured experts: Justin Nielson, head of Kagan Research at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Scott Robson, principal analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan. Michael Johnson, research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan. Credits: Host/Author: Mike Reynolds Producer/Editor: Sarah James www.spglobal.com www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence