FOX Looks To Cash In With New Friday Night College Football Package; Fight With ESPN Continues

College football continues to change on what seems like a daily basis, whether it's new rules when it comes to recruiting, or how many teams should be in the playoff. And one significant television move by FOX continues to signal that the fight with ESPN is just getting started. 

It was announced on Thursday that FOX will be upping the competition with ESPN around the landscape of college football on Friday nights. As we've all seen in the past, most networks have been hesitant to air marquee games on Friday nights, which is mostly by design. Tradition wise, airing games on that night has been a gamble, considering that high school football is being played in every town across the country. 

So, getting eyeballs on these matchups has been a challenge, hence why you don't see any marquee games on this night. But in the ever-changing landscape that is college football media rights, FOX is pushing in its chips, in the hopes of making Friday night a significant lead-in to their coverage on Saturdays. 

In the past, ESPN, CBS Sports Network, FS1 and the Big Ten Network have been the home to any games played on Friday nights, with a  number of conferences involved. But, since we have seen FOX make more of a push to compete with ESPN, and even CBS, when it comes to ratings, it should come as no surprise that the network is ready for another push into the homes of college football fans. 

Fight For College Football Viewers Between ESPN And FOX Continues 

After launching ‘Big Noon Saturday’, the competition between that show and ESPN's College Gameday has turned into a spectacle. Trying to get fans to change the channel from the homey feeling of Gameday, with a slew of stars has been a challenge that FOX has embraced. 

If we're being honest, having a different choice of which channel to start your day of watching college football has been a nice change of scenery. Now, with the network willing to go all-in on its college sports package, we could see the competition carryover into more marquee games on Friday evenings. It's a win for everyone that enjoys the sport, especially when we already have such a loaded slate on every Saturday in the fall. 

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - OCTOBER 14: Head coach Lincoln Riley of the USC Trojans looks on against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium on October 14, 2023 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

But to make this work for FOX, they have to be willing to back up their claims of ‘Elite Matchups’ the was mentioned in their press release on Thursday. 

"FOX is football, and our new Friday night package will make FOX the leader in America’s game throughout the weekend," said Michael Mulvihill, President, Insight and Analytics, FOX Corporation. "We’ve built our collegiate business by seizing opportunities in previously underutilized timeslots, first with BIG NOON SATURDAY and now on Friday nights. Our goal this fall is to have the No. 1 college football game on both Fridays and Saturdays and the top NFL game on Sundays."

Ok, that's all good and well, but if the network decides to announce a matchup that could easily be slotted for a 10pm start time on FS1, there's no need to try. The regular college football fan already gets a game on Thursday and Friday nights, it just depends on the network. Hopefully FOX has already negotiated with the Big Ten, Big 12 and Mountain West conferences on putting a premier game on that night. 

If you schedule an Iowa vs. Rutgers game for that night, you aren't going to attract the audience desired. Sure, college football fans with nothing to do on Friday night will certainly tune into the game, but that's because we're degenerates, and obsessed with the sport. But that's not the audience FOX is trying to attract, and they hopefully know this. 

Much Has Changed Since 2018, When James Franklin, Big Ten Were Against Idea

Yes, the format of college football has changed in the past six years, when playing on a Friday night was frowned upon by coaches in the Big Ten. But it really started in 2016, when the conference announced that they would play up to six games on Friday nights during the season. One of those coaches who publicly spoke out against the idea of playing on a night that is traditionally saved for high school football was Penn State's James Franklin. 

"I'm old-school from that standpoint," James Franklin said in 2018. "I think Thursday night, in small doses is for college football; I don't think it's for the NFL. When I grew up, the Thursday night game of the week [on ESPN] was a pretty cool thing for college football. And now the NFL has started to do [Thursdays].

"Friday night is for high school. Truly, Saturday is for college. And Sunday is for the NFL. I think that's a great model that's worked for a long time and it allowed each separate phase to enjoy on their own. All those complemented and supported each other."

STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 20: Head coach James Franklin of the Penn State Nittany Lions looks on ""after a play against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the second half at Beaver Stadium on November 20, 2021 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

This certainly goes to show us how much has changed when it comes to television contracts and how schools have embraced the idea. Sure, there are coaches that don't like playing on any other day besides Saturday, but the thinking has changed. Just in the past six years alone, coaches around the SEC have advocated to play on Thursday night, just so they could be the main attraction of that night, with all eyes on them. 

There will obviously still be pushback, because if a team is playing on a Friday night at home, that means the chances of bringing in a bunch of high school prospects are pretty slim. 

Just Make This The True ‘Prime’ Spot For Colorado Football, Deion Sanders

Judging by the ratings from last season, the Big 12 has to be ecstatic with the thought of having Deion Sanders and Colorado hold prime real estate on Friday nights. Now with FOX, they most likely won't have to worry about playing a game at 10pm ET on a Friday night, like Colorado did against Stanford last season. '

BOULDER, COLORADO - AUGUST 9: Head Coach Deion Sanders takes the field during warmups at Folsom Field on September 9, 2023 in Boulder, Colorado. Coach Sanders will lead the Colorado Buffaloes in a matchup against their long-time rivals, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, during Coach Prime's highly anticipated home debut. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

The Buffaloes played two games on Friday during the 2023 season, which led to all the attention on Coach Prime, even with the season trending downwards. Now, with one game already scheduled for a Friday night, on November 29th against Oklahoma State, maybe the network can convince the Colorado administration to give them one more game on a Friday night. 

We all know this will benefit the fresh-looking Big 12 conference, while the Big Ten could offer up Lincoln Riley and USC on another Friday during the season. Point is, both of these conferences should be jumping at that FOX is presenting, especially with how much money FOX is paying for television rights.