ESPN Reaches Multi-year Extension To Air NFL Draft In Addition To
ESPN will continue to transmit the NFL Draft along with getting brand-new digital rights for its upcoming direct-to-consumer service.
The 2 arrangements were announced Wednesday morning, two hours before the Walt Disney Company announced its third-quarter incomes.
It also came after the NFL and ESPN revealed a nonbinding agreement Tuesday night in which ESPN will acquire the NFL Network and other league media properties while the NFL gets a 10% equity stake in ESPN.
ESPN has aired the NFL Draft considering that 1980, when the league's yearly selection conference occurred at the New york city Sheraton Hotel. At that time, the draft was 2 days (Tuesday and Wednesday) and took 12 rounds.
Next year's draft will be in Pittsburgh and is anticipated to attract huge crowds over the three days. The very first round has had its own night given that 2010.
ESPN and ABC will each have their own telecasts of the first 3 rounds on Thursday and Friday. ABC will simulcast ESPN's protection of the last four rounds on Saturday.
FILE - ESPN Monday Night Football TV camera is seen throughout the second half of an NFL football game in between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings, Monday, Dec. 20, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski, File)
Besides ESPN's direct-to-consumer service, Disney+ and Hulu will also stream the ESPN, ABC, and ESPN Deportes ´ feeds under the multi-year arrangement. The draft will likewise continue to be aired on .
"We ´ ve been discussing the draft since last year and how we continue to construct on that. ESPN has been a partner because from day one, bringing, the fans closer to that occasion and structure that event into among the most popular occasions on the sporting calendar, which is extraordinary if you reflect a couple of years," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told The Associated Press. "We understand that relationship works, and we ´ re proud that ESPN is going to continue to be a partner."
ESPN will also produce a daily program leading up to the NFL Draft that will start the day after the Super Bowl. That program will air most days on ESPN2, in addition to being available on the direct-to-consumer service.
ESPN has also reached a licensing contract that enables extra NFL content and interactive features, including statistics, fantasy football team performance and legalized sports wagering information and tracking. It likewise enables ESPN to offer and bundle NFL+ Premium, the league's direct-to-consumer product that includes out-of-market preseason video games and replays of full video games.
There will likewise be expanded emphasize rights for the ESPN direct-to-consumer service and Disney+.
"This will make the fan experience much more powerful. The goal for ESPN when they release the services is to develop something that doesn ´ t exist on linear (television) since the technology allows it," Disney CEO Bob Iger said to AP. "We ´ ve spoke about personalization and individualized SportsCenter and the capability to essentially create stats and to connect wagering to some of the shows."