USC-Clemson is one of baseball’s best rivalries. So why isn’t it on traditional TV?
This weekend, Clemson and South Carolina baseball will play three games across three different ballparks. The rivalry should be fiery and exciting, as per usual.
It also won’t be available to watch on regular television.
All three games of this year’s Palmetto Series are streaming only and won’t be available on a standard TV channel like ESPN, ACC Network or SEC Network.
Friday’s game at USC’s Founders Park will broadcast on SEC Network Plus. Saturday’s game at Segra Park in Columbia and Sunday’s game at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson are both set for broadcasts on ACC Network Extra.
That’s status quo for the series … and a long-running frustration among fans.
Streaming is easier than ever in 2026, and it’s not like Clemson-USC isn’t being televised. Still, why can’t a premier non-conference series that’s widely considered one of the best rivalries in college baseball consistently make it onto a major television channel?
How college baseball gets squeezed by winter sports
Clemson and South Carolina have no formal say in which of their baseball games get put on traditional TV, also known as “linear” television. Those decisions fall with ESPN, the top TV partner of the ACC and the SEC that carries nearly all the conferences’ baseball games that do get broadcast.
That’s not an uncommon setup. Companies pay millions of dollars in broadcast rights for the ability to pick and choose which games they want to highlight, what channel they’re on and when they start (see: football kickoff times).
In the case of ESPN’s college baseball coverage, though, a lack of interest in Clemson-South Carolina isn’t the biggest factor in making the rivalry streaming only. It’s the sheer lack of linear TV spots available for college baseball this time of year.
ESPN is a few weeks into a busy “crossover season” where the start of college baseball and softball season overlaps with gymnastics, men’s basketball and women’s basketball, all of which are approaching their postseasons.
“Contractual obligations to winter sports take precedence at this stage of the season on linear networks,” ESPN spokesman Colin Bradley said via email.
For example, SEC Network is broadcasting three straight gymnastics meets between ranked conference opponents on Friday. SEC Network and ACC Network are both wall-to-wall with hoops this weekend, airing men’s basketball quadruple-headers on Saturday and women’s basketball triple-headers on Sunday.
The Tigers and Gamecocks are in a unique position because they play a marquee rivalry series three weeks into their season, at a time when most other ACC and SEC baseball programs are still playing tune-up games against small-college opponents.
But every school is in the same boat.
With gymnastics and basketball season in full swing and basketball conference tournaments approaching, ESPN is scheduled to broadcast just one college baseball game on linear TV during the first month of the season.
Clemson, USC baseball part of larger trend
The one college baseball game ESPN picked for linear TV is notable, though. ACC Network will carry the opening game of No. 10 Florida’s three-game series at No. 17 Miami in Coral Gables, Florida on Friday night. Like Clemson-USC, that’s an early season, non-conference series between in-state teams that don’t like each other.
So the fact the Gamecocks had a bad year during Paul Mainieri’s first season as coach in 2025 — 28-29 overall, 6-24 in the SEC — probably didn’t help their case as ESPN executives evaluated potential teams and series to showcase in the offseason.
South Carolina baseball is set to play six games on traditional TV this season, while No. 15 Clemson baseball and coach Erik Bakich are set to play 11 such games. For both programs, that’s fewer than 20% of the total games they’ll play in 2026.
It’s reflective of a larger trend: There are simply too many college baseball games for ESPN to come close to broadcasting all of them — or even half — on standard TV.
The company’s “expanded linear presence” will feature over 160 college baseball games on ESPN TV channels, including the entire ACC Tournament, SEC Tournament and College World Series, according to a news release. A whopping 4,000-plus additional games will be available on streaming-only platforms.
Bradley, the ESPN spokesman, said that games on ACC Network Extra and SEC Network Plus are “just as accessible on our platforms as any linear broadcast.” In other words, anyone with access to ACCN and/or SECN through their cable provider — whether that’s a traditional cable platform or a streaming TV option — has access to the streaming-only channels, primarily through the ESPN app.
“Overall, there’s never been more access to college baseball for fans,” Bradley said.
To watch Clemson-USC this weekend, though, it’ll take a few extra clicks on the remote.
South Carolina vs Clemson baseball streaming info
- Friday, Feb. 27: vs. Clemson, 7 p.m. (SEC Network Plus)
- Saturday, Feb. 28: vs. Clemson (Segra Park), 3 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
- Sunday, March 1: at Clemson, 3 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
This story was originally published February 26, 2026 at 11:59 AM with the headline "USC-Clemson is one of baseball’s best rivalries. So why isn’t it on traditional TV?."
