Disney+ is adding more college football simulcasts this season; LIV Golf has funding for the league to continue; and ESPN announces changes to its college football broadcasting teams. Plus news on FIFA, Dick Vitale, USC-Notre Dame and the NHRA.
Disney+ to add more college football simulcasts
Disney+ will expand its sports content to include additional college football simulcasts this fall, allowing it to drive more engagement on the platform and upsell its bundle with Hulu and ESPN Unlimited, the company wrote in its shareholder letter. The schedule of games on Disney+, which is to be determined, will mark the first college football games to air on the service without the need for an ESPN subscription. Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro touted the importance of live sports programming as “a fan engagement and ecosystem play,” rather than simply driving viewership. “When a sports fan engages with ESPN, Disney+ or our parks, their lifetime value increases.”
Disney+ launched an ESPN tile in December 2024, providing subscribers access to a selection of live broadcasts. The service has been part of a bundle with Hulu and ESPN+ since 2019.
Streaming video on demand within the company’s entertainment segment, which primarily includes Disney+ and Hulu, garnered revenue of $5.53 billion (+11% YoY) on operating income of $712 million (+116.4% YoY). The sports segment of the business, inclusive of ESPN, finished the quarter with total revenues of $4.5 billion (+4% YoY), encompassing more revenue from subscription and affiliate fees, 4% of which came from its transaction with the NFL. Operating income for the segment was down 17% YoY to $858 million due to “higher programming and production costs.”
Disney also announced Wednesday that it has sold out advertising inventory for Super Bowl LXI. Advertising for the championship game will feature 58 brands in 34 categories, along with nine advertisers participating for the first time. Disney was selling 30-second ads for the game at pricepoints of $8 million to $9 million, according to a report by Brian Steinberg of Variety.
LIV Golf secures new funding source to continue play
LIV Golf has secured funding to keep the league going past this season, it was announced Wednesday by CEO Scott O’Neil. While the lead investor involved remains unknown, the board approved the term sheet and will continue to operate moving forward. The league also has opportunities to bring on other investors, although O’Neil said that it is not necessary. O’Neil later added that if the deal is successfully finalized, which the league hopes occurs next month, LIV Golf will continue to operate through 2030.
“LIV Golf has an agreement in place with a lead investor, signed by the investor and approved by the board, to anchor the transaction and play a key role in supporting the path forward for the league’s next era, driven by and for the players,” O’Neil said in a statement provided to Mark Schlabach of ESPN. “We’re also seeing strong interest from more than a dozen additional parties to potentially serve as minority investors, creating a multi-partner model built for long-term stability and growth.”
O’Neil added that the players will become “the majority equity holders in LIV Golf” under the transaction, marking what would be a first “for a major global sports league.” Bryson DeChambeau held a players-only meeting on Tuesday that followed a conversation between O’Neil, other executives and team captains, according to a report by Gabby Herzig of The Athletic. LIV Golf has three more competitions remaining under its 14-event calendar this year before it reduces its schedule to a 10-event slate.
LIV Golf was looking for new investment after the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) pulled its support for the league. O’Neil said in April in a since-deleted interview with TNT Sports UK that LIV Golf has funding to complete the 2026 season, although there has been some doubt about whether or not the team championship would take place. When asked about the status of that event, O’Neil said that LIV Golf has “not made any final formal decisions and hope to in the coming weeks.”
ESPN reveals series of new college football broadcasting teams
ESPN announced Wednesday that Mike Monaco will serve as the play-by-play voice for its Friday night college football games, working with analyst Jordan Rodgers and reporter Dana Boyle on Big 12 and ACC contests throughout the season. Matt Barrie will call the Thursday night prime time games with analyst Chase Daniel and reporter Paul Carcaterra. Alyssa Lang will be in studio for wraparounds on Friday and Saturday nights, according to a report by Matt Connolly of AL.com, succeeding Barrie in the role as he continues anchoring “SportsCenter” and becomes the new host of “SEC Nation.”
As previously reported, Molly McGrath is joining ESPN NFL coverage this season and will be the reporter on NFL Network game broadcasts. Katie George, who was one of two reporters on the secondary broadcast team last year, is moving into McGrath’s former role as the reporter alongside Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy. Kris Budden is moving into George’s previous reporting role with Joe Tessitore and Jesse Palmer. Budden formerly worked with Bob Wischusen and Louis Riddick, who will continue calling games together with reporter Stormy Buonantony.
There are a series of other changes across the remainder of the roster, including the addition of Sherree Burruss as a reporter. Burruss, who joined NFL Network three years ago, is working with play-by-play announcer Roy Philpott and analyst Brock Osweiler. “ACC Network Primetime” will continue to feature Wes Durham on the game call, but he will have two new partners in analyst Max Browne and reporter Madison Fitzpatrick. SEC Network prime time games will also have a new sound on Saturday nights with play-by-play announcer Matt Schumacker, analyst Aaron Murray and reporter Taylor Davis. The previous prime time team with the aforementioned Rodgers with Tom Hart and Cole Cubelic are working on new assignments this year.
The lead ESPN team of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe returns intact, with a new rules analyst in former NCAA secretary-rules editor Steve Shaw.
Plus: FIFA, Dick Vitale, USC-Notre Dame, Arizona Cardinals
- FIFA president Gianni Infantino retained the “full support” of company executives in an emergency meeting on Wednesday after several members of the soccer community called for his job. Infantino came under scrutiny when FIFA announced it was exploring the prospect of privatizing its commercial operations, including the World Cup, prompting outrage that included a UEFA boycott of future tournaments for as long as the plan was in place. FIFA backed down from the plan and said it would conduct a review.
- ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale, who was diagnosed with melanoma earlier this year, wrote on social media Wednesday that recent blood tests returned “very good” and that the immunotherapy treatments are “very effective in wiping out the cancer.” Vitale is battling cancer for a fifth time.
- The USC-Notre Dame football rivalry will resume in 2030 as part of a four-year home-and-home series, the schools announced earlier this week. The first two games will take place early in the college football season, starting with a late August matchup in 2030. The rivalry, which has a history beginning in 1926, will be on hold the next few seasons after the sides were unable to reach a deal to continue. John Ourand of Puck had reported that Netflix tried to acquire rights for a USC-Notre Dame game that would have taken place at a neutral site but was ultimately rejected by the Big Ten.
- Fox Sports, The CW and FloSports were described as being “in the mix” for domestic media rights to the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), which is expected to be “within a handful of weeks of having the deals finalized,” according to a report by Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal. While Fox has been televising NHRA races since 2016, The CW would be a new linear entrant and could end up potentially airing “the latter portion of the racing season.”
