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When ESPN took over NFL Network last week, a vast majority of the NFL Media TV talents became employees of ESPN.
One notable exception is Scott Hanson, the popular NFL RedZone host, who remains a league employee, sources confirmed to Front Office Sports. An ESPN spokesperson declined to comment, and NFL spokespeople did not respond.
While the league sold NFL Network and its fantasy sports operations to ESPN in exchange for a 10% stake in the sports network, it retained control of RedZone. The extent of ESPN’s involvement in RedZone is that it gained the rights to distribute it to pay-TV operators, which is why people who were blaming ESPN for there being more ads on RedZone last season were misplacing their ire.
Sources told FOS that another front-facing talent who remained with NFL Media is Gregg Rosenthal, who hosts the NFL Daily podcast.
While there was some fear amongst NFL Network production employees about what would happen leading up to the transition to ESPN, it was business-as-usual last week. NFL Network had already been cut to the bone in recent years, and ESPN is expected to eventually add some new content around the edges. The Bristol-based network could look to put some digital shows on NFL Network in a similar manner to what it’s been doing on ESPN2, and there could also be a simulcast or re-air of NFL Live, one source said.
FOS previously reported that Ian Rapoport and Daniel Jeremiah are seen by ESPN leaders as potential heir apparents to Adam Schefter and Mel Kiper Jr., in a similar vein to how the late, great Chris Mortensen gradually passed the torch to Schefter.
