{"id":50543,"date":"2025-08-07T14:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T14:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/50543\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T14:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T14:06:08","slug":"espn-to-buy-nfl-network-redzone-channel-league-gets-10-equity-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/50543\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN to buy NFL Network, RedZone Channel; league gets 10% equity back"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"play\"<\/p>\n

Five NFL games we can’t wait to watch in the 2025 season<\/p>\n

The schedule for the 2025 NFL season has been released. Here are a few games on our must-watch list.<\/p>\n

ESPN and the NFL<\/a> are putting a ring on it \u2013 let\u2019s hope that means a huge win for their viewers.<\/p>\n

As originally reported by The Athletic<\/a> last week, ESPN\u2019s relationship with the league will become even more intertwined in the wake of Tuesday night\u2019s announcement of a non-binding agreement in which it \u201cwill acquire NFL Network and certain other media assets owned and controlled by the NFL \u2013 including NFL\u2019s linear RedZone Channel, and NFL Fantasy \u2013\u00a0in exchange for a 10% equity stake in ESPN.\u201d The parties \u201care also entering into a second non-binding agreement, under which the NFL will license to ESPN certain NFL content and other intellectual property to be used by NFL Network and other assets.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to making more untold billions, the NFL effectively divests itself of the costs associated with in-house broadcasting. Concurrently, its product gains even wider distribution and new innovative benefits.<\/p>\n

NFL Network will continue to broadcast seven games per season with ESPN reaping the benefits of that \u2013 notably to its pending direct-to-consumer service. NFL Fantasy Football\u00a0and ESPN Fantasy Football will merge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an exciting day for sports fans,\u201d Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN\u2019s chairman, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy combining these NFL media assets with ESPN\u2019s reach and innovation, we\u2019re creating a premier destination for football fans. Together, ESPN and the NFL are redefining how fans engage with the game \u2013 anytime, anywhere. This deal helps fuel ESPN\u2019s digital future, laying the foundation for an even more robust offering as we prepare to launch our new direct-to-consumer service.\u201d<\/p>\n

The breadcrumbs for this union have been apparent for some time.<\/p>\n

POWER RANKINGS: As preseason nears, who are Eagles’ main threats?<\/a><\/p>\n

NFL Media insider Ian Rapoport is a frequent guest on ESPN\u2019s \u201cThe Pat McAfee Show\u201d and has even hosted it \u2013 certainly an unusual arrangement for entities seemingly set up as something of competitors when the league became the first of the major ones in North America to create its own broadcasting arm with the launch of NFL Network in 2003.<\/p>\n

Rich Eisen, the original face of NFLN when he left ESPN to help start it, had already been revealed as the new de facto voice of ESPN Radio \u2013 \u201cThe Rich Eisen Show\u201d to begin airing there in September from noon to 3 p.m. ET as well as on Disney+ and ESPN+. Former NFLN reporter Peter Schrager, a longtime cast member of \u201cGood Morning Football,\u201d the network’s morning show, jumped to ESPN earlier this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hopefully viewers reap the benefit of better and broader coverage of the league.<\/p>\n

The entertainment goliaths have essentially been significant others for decades, ESPN broadcasting league games on Sunday nights, Monday nights and, more recently, via select streaming opportunities through the years. \u201cNFL Live\u201d is an hour-long afternoon show that\u2019s a staple of the network\u2019s weekday lineup, and the cable giant\u2019s morning shows typically devote the bulk of their air time to NFL news and analysis.<\/p>\n

NFL Network original programming, along with its workforce, has been steadily reduced for years. Despite its new campus adjacent to SoFi Stadium \u2212 home of the Rams and Chargers \u2212 in Inglewood, California, \u201cGMFB,\u201d which now runs two hours (it was once four hours), is currently the only regular studio show in the NFLN lineup year-round. The nightly \u201cThe Insiders\u201d show replaced \u201cNFL Total Access,\u201d which had been the network\u2019s long-running equivalent of “SportsCenter,” but is essentially aired from the homes of its reporters as the league opted to cut the production costs associated with doing a studio show. During the season, the network does a stripped-down Sunday night highlights show and daily fantasy show.<\/p>\n

Yet it didn\u2019t even send Eisen and Hall of Fame analyst Kurt Warner to Canton, Ohio, last weekend to anchor this year\u2019s Hall of Fame inductions. Original “GMFB” cast member Kyle Brandt wore a “SportsCenter” shirt on Monday\u2019s broadcast.<\/p>\n

There were no details Tuesday regarding the impact on programming or on-air talent, though the marriage will obviously create opportunities \u2212 along with redundancies. Multiple people at NFL Media told USA TODAY Sports that rumors of the move have lingered for months and created an environment of uncertainty. They were granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation.<\/p>\n

The NFL will continue to own and operate NFL Films, which has churned out 141 Sports Emmys during its existence and helped mythologize the sport over the decades. However its footprint on NFL Network has dwindled in recent years as shows like “NFL 360,” “NFL Top 10” and “A Football Life” wound down. This year, its annual “NFL’s Top 100 Players” \u2212 a series underpinned by player surveys to determine the league’s top stars \u2212 is being distributed on X rather than airing on NFLN.<\/p>\n

Naturally, another major concern is how the league’s seedier issues will be covered.<\/p>\n

In past years, ESPN has done deep dives into troubling NFL stories, such as the highly controversial tenure of former Washington owner Daniel Snyder or the ramifications of concussions, with hard-hitting, in-depth investigative pieces \u2212 both on air and digitally. NFL Network rarely delved into such topics, particularly when an owner like Snyder or the New England Patriots’ Robert Kraft was in the headlines. How such stories are reported on ESPN in the future will invite further scrutiny given the league’s ownership stake.<\/p>\n

NFL Network itself has been plagued for years by the dismissal of former players turned analysts who got into trouble behind the scenes or elsewhere, a list that includes Michael Irvin, Willie McGinest, Marshall Faulk, Warren Sapp, Ike Taylor and Heath Evans, among others.<\/p>\n

HARD KNOCKS: 20 most memorable moments from NFL training camp docuseries<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSince its launch in 2003, NFL Network has provided millions of fans unprecedented access to the sport they love,\u201d Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it was debuting Thursday Night Football, televising the (Scouting) Combine, or telling incredible football stories through original shows and breaking news, NFL Network has delivered. The Network\u2019s sale to ESPN will build on this remarkable legacy, providing more NFL football for more fans in new and innovative ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

But how that legacy is shaped moving forward, especially regarding matters that can tarnish the reputation of America’s favorite, by far, sports league remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

Per the NFL and ESPN, the \u201ctransactions are subject to the parties\u2019 negotiation of definitive agreements, various approvals including by the NFL team owners, and customary closing conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

All NFL news on and off the field.\u00a0Sign up<\/a>\u00a0for USA TODAY’s 4th and Monday newsletter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Five NFL games we can’t wait to watch in the 2025 season The schedule for the 2025 NFL…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50544,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[448,620,634,449,64,63,134,794,800,596,795,42726,29553,322,456,621,637,4758,44,593,323,451,439,85,635,4759,39,427,4763,441,42727],"class_list":["post-50543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-affiliate","tag-american","tag-american-football","tag-arts","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-espn","tag-espn-inc","tag-football","tag-inc","tag-kurt","tag-kurt-warner","tag-local","tag-local-affiliate-arts-u0026-entertainment","tag-national","tag-national-sports","tag-networks","tag-news","tag-nfl","tag-overall","tag-overall-positive","tag-positive","tag-sports","tag-sports-news","tag-stations","tag-top-stories","tag-tv","tag-tv-networks-u0026-stations","tag-u0026","tag-warner"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50543\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}