Thanks to the Patriots’ poor season, the NFL is using flexible scheduling on Monday Night Football for the first time. Plus: the College Football Playoff is reportedly exploring a rotation of National Championship broadcasters; Disney’s Bob Iger says ABC is not for sale and never was; NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 could be headed to Amazon in the new Cup Series media rights deal.
NFL uses flex scheduling on MNF for first time
The NFL on Thursday announced that it is flexing Chiefs-Patriots off of Monday Night Football December 18 in favor of Eagles-Seahawks, marking the first time ever that flex scheduling has been used on a Monday night game. Under the new NFL rights deals that began this season, ESPN has the right to use flex scheduling from Week 12-17 of each season. There is no limitation on the number of times flex scheduling can be used on Monday nights, though internally the expectation is that it will be done at most once or twice a season.
Eagles-Seahawks was originally scheduled to air as the secondary game of the 4:25 PM ET national window on FOX, with most of the country receiving Cowboys-Bills. Instead, that Cowboys-Bills game will now air as the solo 4:25 game. The Chiefs-Patriots game, which lost luster due to New England’s poor season, has been moved to 1 PM ET on FOX. The Week 15 schedule is here. (NFL)
College Football Playoff reportedly exploring rotation of National Championship broadcasters
The College Football Playoff is exploring whether to rotate the National Championship among multiple broadcast partners in its new media rights deal, Front Office Sports reported Thursday. It is common for championship sporting events to alternate broadcasters on an annual basis. Beyond the Super Bowl, which under the new NFL media rights deals will now cycle between four different networks, college basketball’s national championship alternates between CBS and TBS, the Stanley Cup Final alternates between ABC and TNT, and the World Series alternated between ABC and NBC (and later NBC and FOX) throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
ESPN has aired the National Championship every year dating back to 2010, easily the longest run since the formation of CFP predecessor the Bowl Championship Series. (Front Office Sports 11.30)
Iger says ABC not for sale and never was
Disney CEO Bob Iger told the New York Times DealBook Summit on Wednesday that the company’s linear assets — including ABC — are not for sale and that his comments this summer implying as such were misconstrued. Iger: “I did not say [the channels] were for sale, the coverage of what I said said they were for sale.” In a July CNBC interview, Iger said the linear channels may not be core to Disney and mentioned them as one of the company’s “no-growth businesses” in need of “expansive” solutions (ESPN being a noted exception). The comments touched off weeks of speculation about the status of ABC and prompted at least one offer from entrepreneur Byron Allen.
Iger said Wednesday that his comments were intended to show investors that he and Disney are both aware of the problems facing linear and adaptable to the new media environment. He added that Disney has done an “unbelievably rigorous” evaluation of the channels’ value to the company and determined that they can be run “more efficiently” with some “difficult choices” — Disney this year laid off thousands of employees, including a number of well-known ESPN broadcasters — and could work in “partnership” with its higher-priority streaming platforms. (NYT YouTube 11.30)
Coke 600 likely to end up on Amazon, Chicago on TNT, per report
The NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte is likely to be the first race on Amazon Prime Video under the new media rights deals that begin in 2025, according to The Athletic. One of the premier races on the Cup Series schedule, the Memorial Day weekend staple has aired on FOX since the network first began airing NASCAR in 2001. It previously aired on TBS.
The Chicago Street Race, which in its debut this season finished as the most-watched race outside of the Daytona 500, is expected to end up on TNT in the event that it continues to be held. (The Athletic 11.30)
