News: ESPN-XFL, Aussie Open, UF-FSU and more

ESPN has acquired exclusive rights to the new XFL. Plus: ESPN has extended its Australian Open deal; Florida-FSU will get a primetime slot on ABC Black Friday; and more.

ESPN acquires rights to second XFL reboot

ESPN announced Tuesday that it has acquired exclusive rights to the new version of the XFL that is scheduled to launch next year. Unlike the previous iteration of the XFL two years ago, in which games were split between ESPN/ABC and Fox Sports, the ESPN networks will carry all 40 regular season games, two semifinals and the championship.

Notably, the list of ESPN networks will include FX — the former Fox-owned cable network that was sold to Disney in 2018. FX and FXX, which carried occasional Fox Sports programs under their previous ownership, have not aired any sportscasts since the Disney deal. [ESPN PR]

ESPN extends Australian Open deal through 2031

ESPN has reached a nine-year media rights extension to continue airing tennis’ Australian Open through 2031, it was announced Tuesday. Under the extension, ESPN and ESPN2 will continue to provide nightly primetime windows, the semifinals and singles finals, while ESPN+ will carry all matches not carried on linear television — including the 3 AM ET match windows that coincide with Australian primetime. The provisions largely went into place during this past year’s Australian Open. [ESPN PR]

ABC to carry UF-FSU in primetime on Black Friday

ABC will carry the annual Florida-Florida State college football rivalry game in primetime on Black Friday, marking the first time the network has carried a primetime game on the day after Thanksgiving. The network also has Florida State on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend in primetime against LSU.

Other ABC games announced Tuesday include Notre Dame-Ohio State and Georgia-Oregon on the first Saturday of the season September 3 as well as the annual Texas-Oklahoma “Red River Rivalry” on October 8.

In other college football scheduling news, Fox said Monday that it will carry the Alabama-Texas game on September 10. [ESPN PR, Fox Sports PR]

Plus: NFL conference affiliations, Buck debut, NBA in-season tournament

As previously noted when the deals were announced last year, the NFL is discontinuing conference designations for CBS and FOX starting next season, per The Athletic. While it is fairly common for the NFL to “cross-flex” games between FOX and CBS, the networks still primarily air games from the conferences with which they are affiliated. … New Monday Night Football voice Joe Buck will make his ESPN debut this week on an alternate presentation of the PGA Championship that will air on all four days of the tournament, co-hosting alongside Michael Collins. The alternate broadcast will air across ESPN and ESPN2 on Thursday and Friday and ESPN and ESPN+ on Saturday and Sunday. [Full PGA Championship schedule here.] … Discussions are underway for an NBA in-season tournament that would begin as soon as the 2023-24 season, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Tuesday. NBA commissioner Adam Silver has long been a supporter of the in-season tournament idea. [The Athletic 5.16, ESPN PR, Charania/Twitter 5.17]

For a second-straight year, Ohio State and Texas met in front of an unusually large TV crowd.

New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) celebrates a first down during an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones)

NBC’s Cowboys-Giants most-watched Week 1 game thus far

by Jon Lewis

2 days ago

The Cowboys-Giants rivalry delivered the top audience so far in Week 1 of the NFL season.

NFL ON CBS - New England Patriots versus the New York Jets game on September 24, 2023. Pictured: Jim Nantz and Tony Romo. Photo: Mary Kouw/CBS ©2023 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Romo remains out for Weeks 2 and 3 of NFL on CBS

by Jon Lewis

3 days ago

Tony Romo will be out through at least the rest of September on CBS.

Solid, unspectacular debut for Nantz and Watt

by Armand Broady

3 days ago

A review of how JJ Watt and Jim Nantz fared in the debut of their temporary -- perhaps --...

Comments 5

Esl says:

4 years ago

I am shocked that ESPN/ABC would have a press release stating they will have a college football game for the first time in prime time the day after Thanksgiving. This was a semi regular occurrence in the 70s when ABC was the only network for college football. I seemed to recall as a very young boy watching Pitt-Penn State in 1976 on that Friday night after Thanksgiving on ABC. Tony Dorsett had sealed the Heisman trophy. I had to look it up to conform I was right.. Per wickepedia.
“The 1976 game pitted undefeated Pitt, ranked number one in the nation, against Penn State at Three Rivers Stadium on the night after Thanksgiving, November 26. The score was tied 7–7 at the half. Pitt’s coach Johnny Majors moved Tony Dorsett to fullback for the second half, and the Panthers went on to win 24–7, finishing the regular season 11–0, on their way to a Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia and their first National Championship in 39 years.”
This wasn’t the only one. Pretty sure USC-UCLA had a game on a Friday night as well. Shocked that ABC with its history of college football broadcasts would overlook this. Unless they are using the ESPN umbrella to get away with it?
- Paulsen says:
  
  4 years ago
  
  Good memory there. I imagine that ESPN’s ABC records go back only as far as their actual partnership (which started I think in the 1980s).
Nate Johnson says:

4 years ago

Seems to me that FOX chose Ohio St./Michigan St. over OU/Texas. The Buckeyes this coming season will have an exciting offense and a familiar name at QB in CJ Stroud that will be one of the pre-season Heisman favorites and could be a #1 overall choice in the 2023 (him or Bryce Young from Alabama). So I can see how FOX and even ABC to a certain level is investing into him and his current college team. It’s amazing how not too long ago OU was in the same situation and now they’re no longer the top choice of team that networks has a strong interest for. It’s definitely a great pick up by ABC because once the Sooners and Longhorns come over to the SEC their yearly rivalry match-up will be back on ABC on a yearly base so why not take advantage before the break the dawn.

As far as the discontinuation of conference designation goes in the NFL, it pretty much been like that for several seasons and has enhanced since. I believe this is great for the networks though so there can be a balance among the two and nothing unbalanced. While I said over and over that the AFC is very deep and has grown over the last couple to a few seasons, who knows if in the next 3 seasons they’re back to being a maximum of just 4 true contenders and the rest pretenders or mediocre teams. On top of that the AFC don’t have the leverage of prestige NFL franchises and markets as opposed to the NFC. So this is good for all involved and it definitely brings long term security as well.
Samuel says:

4 years ago

My question with the conference designations would be what does this mean for the conference championship games? Does it mean CBS and FOX will alternate AFC and NFC each season or will it remain the same? I actually think this is a terrible idea because the only thing making these conferences different were the networks they were on. What’s the point to even have AFC/NFC anymore starting next season if all 32 teams are lumped together? It’s almost like daily interleague play ruining the AL/NL setup in baseball and this year having it completely destroyed by the universal DH. Not a fan of this setup at all.
- Paulsen says:
  
  4 years ago
  
  Just the regular season — CBS would still get AFC Championship/playoffs and FOX NFC, to my knowledge.