ESPN has acquired the FA Cup as it continues to bolster the soccer offerings on its ESPN Plus service. In other news, NBCSN is revamping its Wednesday night NHL coverage and ESPN is bringing back its “Are You Ready For Some Football” MNF intro for another year.
ESPN Acquires FA Cup
ESPN has acquired rights to the FA Cup and will carry 79 matches, including the FA Cup Final, on its ESPN Plus over-the-top service, the company announced Wednesday. The FA Cup Final had previously been carried on over-the-air broadcast television, airing on FOX the past five years.
The deal is part of ESPN’s overall agreement with IMG, which controls global rights to both the FA Cup and Italy’s Serie A and packaged the two leagues together. ESPN announced its acquisition of Serie A last week, making an FA Cup deal a foregone conclusion. Per Sports Business Journal, the ESPN-IMG deal is worth $55 million per year over three years. [ESPN PR 8.15, SBJ 8.13]
NBC Changing Wednesday Night NHL Coverage
NBC Sports is eliminating its Wednesday Night Rivalry NHL series and replacing it with a new effort titled Wednesday Night Hockey, which will feature a “diverse” schedule of teams that includes the Oilers and Jets. According to ESPN.com, the new series will include an on-site studio presence meant to channel ESPN’s College Gameday. [NBC Sports PR 8.13, ESPN.com 8.14]
ESPN Bringing Back Williams Jr. MNF Intro Again
Despite a near-complete overhaul of its broadcast team, ESPN’s Monday Night Football will bring back its Hank Williams Jr. led intro for a second straight season, a network spokesperson confirmed last week. The “Are You Ready For Some Football” intro will be mostly unchanged from last year, with Williams Jr. again joined by Florida Georgia Line and Jason Derulo.
The Williams Jr. MNF theme dates back to 1989 on ABC and was put on hiatus in 2011 after the singer likened the U.S. President to Adolf Hitler. [ESPN]
