Acquired by Disney just in time for the company’s first Super Bowl in 20 years, NFL Network will carry the ‘big game’ for the first time.
ESPN announced Sunday that NFL Network will carry alternate presentations of its NFL coverage, including “Monday Night Football” games and the Super Bowl, starting this week. The league-branded channel will air the “MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats” altcast that ESPN debuted last year in eight of the remaining 14 weeks this season, the exceptions being Week 8, Weeks 10-12 and either Week 16 or 17.
Each of the NFL Network dates corresponds with a week when “MNF” airs on ABC. With ESPN2 now carrying an altcast in every week this season — officially airing the Pat McAfee-fronted “Field Pass” in off weeks for the Peyton and Eli “Manningcast” — “MNF” will air on four different networks seven times this season, plus the Week 18 Saturday doubleheader for a total of nine games.
NFL Network will also carry the “Playbook” altcast for Super Bowl 61 in February, marking the first time the league-branded network has ever carried live game coverage of the event. Typically, NFL Network has aired a static stats-based screen during the game.
The Super Bowl presentation has now expanded to six networks, between the traditional game telecast on ABC and ESPN, Spanish-language coverage on ESPN Deportes, the “Manningcast” on ESPN2, and the McAfee “Field Pass” — which will air on ESPNU. As might go without saying, ESPNU has never carried live NFL gameplay, though it has aired professional games in the past, including some during the NBA Playoffs.
Adding in the ESPN app and Disney+, the Super Bowl will be available across eight different platforms across linear television and streaming. Last year’s game was available on three — NBC, Peacock and Telemundo.
Between the Super Bowl, the “MNF” altcasts and its own seven-game package of exclusive game windows, NFL Network will air live coverage of 17 NFL games this season — the most in its history. The previous high was 13, during the years when it was the sole carrier of “Thursday Night Football.”
NFL Network was among the NFL Media assets sold to Disney last year in a transaction that saw the league take a ten percent stake in ESPN. Since the acquisition closed in February, NFL Network has expanded its programming to include live road shows from ESPN “Monday Night Football” games and simulcasts of ESPN studio shows.
