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ESPN’s fourth and final Monday Night Football doubleheader of the season is likely to also be the network’s last time utilizing the much-panned broadcast strategy—so long as the league’s ESPN equity deal is finalized on time.
ABC and ESPN will simulcast Buccaneers-Lions at 7 p.m. ET, and ESPN will air Texans-Seahawks at 10 p.m. ET, capping off this season’s slate of MNF doubleheaders, which have been widely scrutinized by fans and media pundits who prefer a single primetime game.
ESPN has been broadcasting more back-to-back and overlapping MNF games for the past three seasons, since its latest NFL media-rights deal that went into effect in 2023 expanded the number of games the network has. This season, ESPN has a record-tying 25 game broadcasts, including two playoff matchups.
Deal Making
In August, Disney and the NFL agreed to a deal that will see ESPN acquire NFL Network and the distribution rights to NFL RedZone, among other assets, in exchange for giving the league a 10% equity stake in ESPN (valued at $2 billion). The deal is subject to standard regulatory approval from the U.S. government.
As part of that pending deal, ESPN’s total number of games will increase to 28 (not including the Super Bowl). ESPN opted to buy three of the seven games NFL Network currently has the rights to each season. The league will take the other four to market.
All 28 of those ESPN-controlled games are guaranteed to be stand-alone TV windows, an ESPN spokesperson confirmed to Front Office Sports; 21 will air on ESPN (including some ABC simulcasts) and 7 on NFL Network.
ESPN would air a single MNF game in Weeks 1–17, its traditional Week 18 Saturday doubleheader, and two playoff games. NFL Network’s games could be international contests, late-season Saturday matchups, or other new TV windows the league creates.
The strategy shift from ESPN should make most fans happy, but when that happens remains up in the air.
A source told FOS the NFL-ESPN deal likely needs to be finalized by some time in the spring for it to fully take effect in the 2026 NFL season. The league typically releases its schedule in May, so if the deal is still in limbo at that time, then ESPN would have its same 25-game slate again, and likely bring back the MNF doubleheaders for one more year.
Ratings Report
Last season, MNF games on ESPN averaged 15 million viewers. So far this year, just one of the six doubleheader games has surpassed that figure, as the dueling games often mean lower ratings for each individual telecast.
Week 2: 13.5 million viewers (combined average)
- Bucs-Texans: 17.4 million
- Chargers-Raiders: 9.6 million
Week 4: 21.41 million viewers during two-hour overlap
- Jets-Dolphins: 8.47 million
- Bengals-Broncos: 13.2 million
Week 6: 21.9 million viewers during two-hour overlap
- Bills-Falcons: 10 million
- Bears-Commanders: 12.9 million
Viewership for Monday’s doubleheader is expected to be released Wednesday.
