Another week, another schedule shake-up for the NFL. Plus: ESPN’s Bristol HQ is set to host the NBA Draft; ESPN is moving more content behind the ESPN+ paywall; and more.
NFL swaps Bucs-Raiders for Seahawks-Cards Sunday night
The NFL announced Thursday that Seahawks-Cardinals will replace Buccaneers-Raiders as this week’s Sunday Night Football game. The league said it made the move “out of an abundance of caution” to ensure a Sunday night game will be played. Several Raiders have tested positive for COVID-19, raising the prospect of a postponement. [Related: NFL TV schedule.]
The Buccaneers-Raiders game has been rescheduled for 4 PM ET Sunday as part of the FOX singleheader. As a result of the move, the Buccaneers will not go head-to-head with the scheduled Rays World Series game Sunday night, but instead serve as its lead-in. [NFL PR 10.22]
NBA Draft to originate from Bristol
ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studios will host next month’s scheduled NBA Draft, with NBA commissioner Adam Silver and deputy commissioner Mark Tatum on-site for the otherwise virtual event. ESPN has previously hosted the WNBA Draft in its Bristol studio. Had the draft taken place as scheduled back in June, it would have aired on both ESPN and ABC. Instead, the rescheduled version is set to air on ESPN alone. [ESPN PR 10.22]
ESPN moving radio simulcasts, articles, to ESPN+
ESPN is moving the TV simulcasts of four ESPN Radio shows — The Dan Le Batard Show, Greeny, Chiney & Golic Jr. and The Max Kellerman Show — from ESPNEWS to the ESPN+ streaming service effective November 9. In addition, ESPN+ will become the exclusive home of the written analyses and features currently available on ESPN.com, though breaking news and investigative reporting will remain free without a subscription.
The moves were first reported by the New York Post. [ESPN PR 10.22, NYP 10.21]
Plus: Holiday Bowl, Winter Classic, SVG
College football’s Holiday Bowl has been canceled, joining the Bahamas, Hawaii and RedBox (San Francisco) bowls on the chopping block. … The NHL announced Thursday that it is postponing next year’s Winter Classic and All-Star Game, but still targeting a January 1 start to the season. The Winter Classic was previously postponed due to the owners’ lockout of players in 2013. … TNT NBA analyst Stan Van Gundy is returning to coaching with the New Orleans Pelicans. He spent just one season with Turner after working for ESPN the previous year. [ESPN.com 10.22, NHL.com 10.22, NBA.com 10.22]
