For ESPN, more is more when it comes to Pat McAfee.
ESPN plans to launch a new Pat McAfee-fronted alternate presentation of “Monday Night Football,” pending standard NFL approval, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported Thursday. The shows would air during off weeks for the primary “MNF” altcast, the Peyton and Eli Manning-fronted “ManningCast.” According to Marchand, that would amount to about eight weeks this season.
The altcasts would mark just the latest expansion of McAfee’s role with ESPN, and particularly its NFL coverage. ESPN already announced this week that McAfee is joining the cast of “Monday Night Countdown” this season. Between his daily show, “Monday Night Countdown” and the potential altcasts, McAfee would be on the air for most of the hours between Noon and Midnight.
McAfee will also maintain his other high-profile ESPN position as a “College Gameday” analyst. Between ten hours of his daily show, three hours of “Gameday,” two hours of “Countdown” and the 3.5-hour Monday night game, his total presence on ESPN during the altcast weeks would approach a full day (18.5 hours).
McAfee has already fronted several altcasts for ESPN, most recently during the NBA Finals. He annually hosts an “NFL Draft Spectacular” that predates his time with ESPN, but has become an increasingly integrated part of its draft coverage — so much so that the company included it in the viewership figure reported for the event this year. His most frequent altcasts have been during college football games, some in-studio and others on-site from field level.
Beyond expanding McAfee’s already-growing presence, the altcasts would also allow ESPN to establish greater consistency for its “Monday Night Football” package. With the “ManningCast” on sporadically during the season, there is little rhyme or reason as to whether “MNF” is on ESPN alone, or ESPN and ESPN2, or ESPN and ABC, or all three.
