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TNT crushed by fans, media for production quality during SMU-Penn State broadcast

Spenser Davis

By Spenser Davis

Published:

TNT is not off to a good start with its first College Football Playoff broadcast for the SMU vs. Penn State game.

TNT, who agreed to a sub-licensing deal with ESPN to broadcast certain CFP games over the next few years, is taking some heavy criticism from fans and media during its first game. Penn State’s home game against SMU is the first of 2 games TNT will broadcast on Saturday, with Clemson-Texas being the other.

Fans and media have noted a number of issues with the broadcast. For one thing, the picture quality seems to be significantly below the 4K standard that ESPN and other networks have set for live sports in recent years.

TNT also endured audio issues during the early part of the broadcast, which was noted by fans.

There were also some unfortunate inaccuracy issues. The pregame show referred to Beaver Stadium as “Nittany Lion Stadium.” After Penn State took a 7-0 lead with a pick-6, the TNT graphics package erroneously credited SMU’s Brashard Smith with scoring a touchdown.

All in all, it’s been a rough start for TNT. The network will need to improve, though, because it’s sub-licensing deal with ESPN runs for 5 seasons and will include quarterfinal broadcasts beginning in 2026.

Here’s some of the reaction to TNT’s rough start:

 

Spenser Davis

Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.