You've probably spent half your Saturdays scrolling through the channel guide trying to find the Nittany Lions. It’s a mess. Between the new Big Ten media deal and the expanded College Football Playoff, the penn state football tv schedule 2024 was essentially a scavenger hunt across four different major networks and at least two streaming platforms. Honestly, if you didn't have a spreadsheet, you were probably missing kickoffs.
James Franklin's squad didn't just play a standard 12-game slate this year. Because they actually "got over the hump" and made the inaugural 12-team playoff, the schedule stretched deep into January 2025. We're talking 16 games in total. That is a massive amount of football to track, especially when the kickoff times for half the season weren't even announced until six or twelve days before the game.
Where the Nittany Lions Landed on Your Screen
The 2024 season was the first full year of the Big Ten’s monster TV deal with FOX, CBS, and NBC. Basically, the "Big Three" took turns picking the best games. FOX usually grabbed the noon window for their "Big Noon Kickoff," while CBS owned the 3:30 p.m. slot, and NBC handled the primetime "Big Ten Saturday Night."
If your game wasn't on one of those, it was banished to the Big Ten Network (BTN) or, in the case of the Washington game, tucked away exclusively on Peacock. It's frustrating for fans who just want to turn on the TV and see the blue and white.
The Regular Season Breakdown
The season started in Morgantown with a noon kick on FOX. Gus Johnson was screaming, the rain was coming down, and Penn State looked like a legit contender. From there, it was a rotating door of broadcasters.
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- August 31: at West Virginia | 12:00 PM | FOX (W 34-12)
- September 7: Bowling Green | 12:00 PM | BTN (W 34-27)
- September 21: Kent State | 3:30 PM | BTN (W 56-0)
- September 28: Illinois | 7:30 PM | NBC (W 21-7)
- October 5: UCLA | 12:00 PM | FOX (W 27-11)
- October 12: at USC | 3:30 PM | CBS (W 33-30 OT)
- October 26: at Wisconsin | 7:30 PM | NBC (W 28-13)
- November 2: Ohio State | 12:00 PM | FOX (L 20-13)
- November 9: Washington | 8:00 PM | Peacock (W 35-6)
- November 16: at Purdue | 3:30 PM | CBS (W 49-10)
- November 23: at Minnesota | 3:30 PM | CBS (W 26-25)
- November 30: Maryland | 3:30 PM | BTN (W 44-7)
That November stretch was particularly weird. Having three 3:30 p.m. games in a row on CBS and BTN felt a bit old school, but then you had the Washington game. That was the "White Out" game. Sorta. It was actually the "White Out" game that happened at night but was only available to stream on Peacock. Fans weren't happy about that one.
The Postseason Chaos: Championship and Playoffs
Once December hit, the penn state football tv schedule 2024 got even more complicated. Since Penn State finished the regular season 11-1, they earned a trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship.
That game against Oregon was a 8:00 p.m. kick on CBS. It was a thriller, even if the Lions came up just short. But because of the new playoff format, the season didn't end there. They hosted a first-round playoff game at Beaver Stadium against SMU.
That game was a weird one for TV. It didn't air on the usual Big Ten partners. Instead, it was on TNT and Max. Yeah, the channel where you usually watch Inside the NBA. It was part of a sub-licensing deal between ESPN and TNT Sports.
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Then came the New Year's bowls. The Fiesta Bowl win over Boise State was on ESPN on New Year's Eve. Finally, the season ended in the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame on January 9, 2025. That was also an ESPN broadcast.
The Peacock Problem and Streaming Shift
You've probably noticed that "cable" isn't enough anymore. To see every game on the penn state football tv schedule 2024, you actually needed a subscription to Peacock and probably Paramount+ if you wanted to stream the CBS games.
The Washington game was the big sticking point. It was the first time a Penn State "White Out" (or the designated night game equivalent) was kept off traditional linear television. This is the new reality. The Big Ten is leaning hard into streaming to chase younger audiences and more revenue.
Honestly, the broadcast quality on Peacock was actually pretty good—Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge are a great duo—but for the older generation of fans in Happy Valley, it was a tech nightmare.
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Why the Kickoff Times Keep Changing
The "12-day window" is the bane of every Penn State fan's existence. Networks like FOX and NBC have the right to wait until roughly two Mondays before a game to decide the time.
Why? Because they want to see who is winning. If Penn State is 8-0 and playing a ranked Wisconsin team, NBC wants that for primetime. If both teams are struggling, it gets dumped to the noon slot or BTN.
In late October and November, the networks sometimes even use a "6-day window." This happened with the Minnesota game. We didn't know for sure it was a 3:30 p.m. kick on CBS until the Sunday before. It makes planning a trip to State College nearly impossible.
Actionable Steps for Future Seasons
If you want to avoid the headache of the penn state football tv schedule 2024 in the future, here is how you stay ahead of the curve:
- Download the Official Penn State Athletics App: They push notifications the second a kickoff time is confirmed.
- Budget for a Month of Peacock: Every year, the Big Ten contract guarantees at least one or two exclusive streaming games. Don't wait until 7:25 p.m. on game day to try and find your login.
- Follow the "Twitter Insiders": Beat writers like Audrey Snyder or Sean Fitz often hear rumors about TV "windows" a few days before the official announcement.
- Sync to Your Calendar: Use a service like Stanza to sync the PSU schedule to your phone. It updates the TV channel and time automatically as they are announced.
The days of knowing every game is at 1:00 p.m. on local TV are dead. But if you know where to look, you won't miss a single snap of the Nittany Lions.