After more than a week away, a special midweek edition with a Deep Dive. ESPN and the College Football Playoff have a handshake agreement for a 24-team field from 2027: ESPN's Pete Thamel reports the network will pay an average of $345 million more a year for five years, on top of the $1.3 billion a year it already pays. With the Power 4 conference title games expected to disappear, ESPN gets back about $140 million a year, putting its net cost near $205 million, and Fox gets back an estimated $50 million. Also today: Netflix lands exclusive rights to the 2030 World Cup in Spain and Andorra, with free games built in; the PNG Chiefs sign Nambawan Super two years before their NRL debut; Adweek's Sports Marketing MVPs favor content over signage; Rezzil raises $10 million to expand into North America; Jean Eric Salata buys 2.1% of the Dolphins at a $12.5 billion valuation; and Nike's "So Win" is named an Adweek Media Plan of the Year. In the Deep Dive: what DAZN is actually launching in the U.S., from 19 directly carried teams and ViewLift-powered apps to free over-the-air games and a promise not to buy rights "for billions of dollars or to lose money." The throughline: the price of getting in early, and the price of staying in.

Music by Cheerry Red

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