Dan Orlovsky is staying put at ESPN; Disney will complete its purchase of Hulu from Comcast; Lee Corso’s final show will be at Ohio State; and more.
Orlovsky re-signs with ESPN, per report
ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky is expected to sign a new contract with ESPN, according to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. The new deal is not yet signed but an agreement has been reached. The current contract expires this summer, and Orlovsky had hinted at an uncertain future at the network.
Orlovsky will continue to appear on NFL Live and work the #2 Monday Night Football booth with Chris Fowler and Louis Riddick. Orlovsky also appears on ABC college football studio coverage and across ESPN’s daytime shows.
Per the report, Orlovsky had been in talks to replace Gary Danielson in CBS’s lead college football booth. CBS ultimatley chose to demote Charles Davis from its NFL ranks into that role.
Disney to acquire final stake in Hulu from Comcast
Disney will pay Comcast $439 million to complete the acquisition of the final share of Hulu, completing an appraisal process that stretched on for several years. The announcement of the intent to acquire Comcast’s shares was made in 2023. The transaction will be complete by the end of July.
With Disney now in full control of Hulu, steps will be made to further integrate the company’s direct-to-consumer streaming products, namely, Disney+ and ESPN. The launch of ESPN as a direct-to-consumer product, set for this fall, will include several bundles with the other streaming products, in and outside of Disney.
Corso set to sign off in Columbus
ESPN announced Tuesday its Week 1 College GameDay show will be in Columbus, OH for the Texas-Ohio State game. The show will be the final episode for the retiring Lee Corso, who began a nearly thirty-year run of making his game pick with a mascot head when he picked Ohio State to beat Penn State on October 5, 1996.
The game itself will be televised by Fox, kicking off the Big Noon Saturday franchise for the network, who will also bring its own on-site pregame show.
The selection of the OSU game means Corso will likely not appear when his alma mater Florida State hosts Alabama at 3:30 on the same day. Corso played for the Seminoles from 1953-1957.
Plus: F1, Vitale, MLB
— Formula One announced its 2026 season calendar, with the Canadian Grand Prix replacing Monaco in the final weekend of May. The move means, pending further changes, the Canadian GP will be held on the same day as the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600, likely in an afternoon window between the two other races. ABC has aired the F1 race in recent years, but F1’s rights deal with ESPN/ABC expires after this season.
— ESPN Events announced Monday the creation of the Dick Vitale Invitational, to be held annually in honor of the legendary college basketball broadcaster. The inaugral event will feature Texas and Duke meeting in Charlotte on November 4. ESPN also announced a contract extension with Vitale to extend his tenure through the 2027-28 season.
— Major League Baseball has acquired an equity stake in Jomboy Media, which creates the popular “Talkin’ Baseball” podcast, among other content. The league will leverage the content company’s social media experience to elevate key events like the All-Star Game and Postseason.
