ESPN and Peyton Manning‘s Omaha Productions announce a long-term deal. Plus: The WNBA inks new media rights agreement with CBS; Jimmy Fallon and Mike Tirico will host the Closing Ceremony for the Paris Olympics this summer, and more.
ESPN and Omaha Productions agree to extension
ESPN and Omaha Productions, the production house founded by Peyton Manning, announced a long-term deal on Wednesday that will extend the partnership through 2034. As part of the deal, Omaha Productions will continue to produce its Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli alternate telecast for ESPN, along with original content like Peyton’s Places. The ESPN-Omaha partnership and the aforementioned ManningCast began in 2021 and has featured 10 or 11 alternate telecasts each season. Whether the Manning brothers will expand their limited schedule as part of the new agreement was not indicated in the announcement. (ESPN, 4.10)
WNBA reaches new agreement with CBS
CBS and the WNBA have reached a multi-year media rights agreement that extends the network’s existing partnership with the league, per release Wednesday. The new deal will have CBS air eight games on broadcast and 12 games on CBS Sports Network this upcoming season. In a shift, CBS will produce the games that air on its broadcast network and provide talent to be announced later, a network spokesman told SMW‘s Jon Lewis.
Amazon Prime Video previously announced its own extension with the WNBA. Games on that platform will continue to use the WNBA’s in-house production.
The WNBA will spread its game inventory across six different broadcast partners this season with ESPN, Amazon, ION, NBA TV, and Meta all owning packages in addition to CBS. (CBS, 4.10) (WNBA, 4.10)
Fallon and Tirico to team up for Olympic coverage
NBC late-night host Jimmy Fallon will join Mike Tirico for the Closing Ceremony of this summer’s Paris Olympics, the network announced Wednesday. The duo will be joined by Terry Gannon, Tara Lipinksi, and Johnny Weir, who will call their fourth Closing Ceremony together. Last month, NBC announced that Tirico would be joined by musician Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning for coverage of the Opening Ceremony. Tirico will host NBC’s primetime Olympic coverage for the third time this summer, having replaced longtime host Bob Costas for the Tokyo Olympics back in 2021. (NBC, 4.10)
Plus: NFL Brazil, ESPN-NFL Network, Adam Silver
— The Eagles and Packers will play in the NFL’s inaugural Brazil game in Week 1 this upcoming season, the league announced Wednesday. The NFL had previously announced the Eagles as participants in the game, but had not yet revealed their opponent. Brazil’s first NFL contest will be a rare Friday night game for the league as the date falls outside of the restrictions set forth by the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. The act prohibits the NFL’s broadcast of Friday games throughout most of the season. (NFL, 4.10)
— ESPN and the NFL Network will mashup talent lineups in the lead up to the NFL Draft, per an NFL social media post Wednesday. The crossover event will see ESPN talents such as Mel Kiper Jr. and Mina Kimes appear on NFL Network shows, while NFL Network talents like Kurt Warner and Daniel Jeremiah will appear on ESPN. This co-mingling of talent happens amid reports that ESPN and the NFL are discussing a deal that would grant ESPN ownership of NFL Media in return for the NFL owning equity stake in ESPN. (NFL, 4.10)
— NBA Commissioner Adam Silver provided a brief update about ongoing media rights negotiations during a press conference Wednesday, noting that conversations with incumbent rights owners ESPN and TNT have been “very positive.” The NBA is currently in its exclusive negotiating window with ESPN and TNT, with its current deals set to expire in 2025. (NBA, 4.10)
