• Loading stock data...
Saturday, September 6, 2025
Fox Analyst and Media Entrepreneur Greg Olsen to Speak at Tuned In Get your ticket now!

‘College GameDay’ Success Fuels Disney’s Draft Approach on ABC

  • ‘GameDay’ crew bring college football expertise to draft, say coaches Mack Brown, James Franklin and Matt Campbell.
  • Disney leverages broadcast channels and personnel to expand coverage to the widest demographic possible.
Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

Over the last two years, The Walt Disney Company has taken a wall-to-wall coverage approach to the NFL Draft, broadcasting the event across several networks and platforms.

But while most of ESPN’s coverage takes the vantage point of the NFL, looking to fulfill hardcore football followers, the inspiration for ABC’s approach comes directly from “College GameDay,” the increasingly popular pregame show.

“GameDay’s” broadcast aims to provide an inside-out view of college football, while also speaking to a broader audience than the typical X’s and O’s draft coverage on ESPN or NFL Network. ABC, for example, employs more story-telling about top college prospects and their families, and less analysis of the draft needs of NFL teams, coaches and GM’s.

ABC intends to combine those efforts this year by featuring a mixture of college football-focused broadcasters like Kirk Herbstreit, Rece Davis, Maria Taylor, Desmond Howard and Tom Rinaldi.

Their purpose is to provide their own insights, different from those brought by typical NFL TV analysts on ESPN or NFL Network. And the overarching sentiment among college football coaches is that they’re able to accomplish just that. 

“The college commentators bring a unique perspective because they have interviewed these players, they have talked to them at length about their team, their leadership and what makes them tick,” said University of North Carolina head coach Mack Brown, who won the BCS National Championship with Texas in 2005.  

Penn State head coach James Franklin noted the “GameDay” crew understands college prospects in a way NFL TV draftniks don’t. They’re not just names and numbers on a draft board – in the college space, they’re people, too.

“These crews traveled the country during the season, post-season, and got a chance to not only see the best players play on the biggest stages, but also get to know them as well,” Franklin said. “Oftentimes they interface with these players multiple times over a few years. They interview these kids, watch them practice, and get a glimpse behind the curtain of who they are as people and student-athletes.”

The perspective of the “GameDay” crew, Franklin added, “is certainly different from an NFL draft expert – when Rece, Kirk, and Maria speak about college football players, they speak with a fondness, almost like they have an emotional connection to the players which is certainly both interesting and appealing.”

No one knows more about college football prospects than people who cover them day in and day out, Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell said.

“There was a real benefit with college announcers [and] broadcasters describing the players in the NFL Draft,” Campbell said. “Many of these professionals meet with our coaching staff throughout the year – they get more inside information on the prospects because they are committed to documenting their exploits during the season. I also feel many of them have viewed more film on the potential draftees because they work diligently each week when preparing for calling a game.”

Herbstreit tested a college-themed version of draft coverage on ESPN2 in 2018. But under the direction of ex-Disney executive turned ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro, ESPN went all-in with the first “College GameDay”-driven draft telecast on ABC in 2019.

The combination of the popular “GameDay” crew, “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts and other ABC personalities was a hit. ABC averaged nearly as many viewers for its round 1 coverage as ESPN did: 4,539,000 vs. 4,864,000, respectively.

Even better, ABC’s audience was 46% women, according to Seth Markman, ESPN’s vice president of production. Since the ABC and ESPN telecasts were both produced by the company, it was also efficient from a cost standpoint.

“One of the mistakes that we made was thinking of this as only an NFL event. At least on our side, over the last couple of years, we said we’re undeserving a little bit of an audience here that’s two-fold. One would be a college audience that knows these players and spent the last three or four years with these players,” Markman said. “The other audience I think we underserved was the female audience and the general audience. I think, on the ABC side, that was something we focused on.”

While ESPN won’t address it publicly, there’s also a strong belief inside Bristol that adding “College GameDay” to its draft coverage helped stave off a challenge for the event from Fox Sports. 

ESPN discovered the once-sleepy draft as a TV property back in 1980: ESPN lore has it that when the new sports network asked NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle for permission to televise the event, even the media-savvy Rozelle asked, “Why?”

With personalities like Mel Kiper Jr. and Chris Berman helping to popularize the event, ESPN had sole draft coverage for 25 years. While NFL Network began broadcasting the draft in 2006, ESPN was still the primary choice of viewers. 

READ MORE: NFL Scouts Finding Zoom Doesn’t Pass the Eye Test for Player Evaluations

But after Fox agreed to pay the NFL $3.3 billion for the rights to “Thursday Night Football” over five years in January 2018, the league allowed ESPN’s rival to broadcast its own-co-branded draft coverage with the NFL Network from the 2018 NFL Draft in Arlington, Texas.

During meetings with the NFL media executives in the spring and summer of 2018, ESPN fought back by proposing its own new programming strategy for the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville.  

Part of that pitch was: what if ESPN’s “College GameDay” crew joined Robin Roberts for an “alternate” version of the draft on sister Disney broadcast network ABC?

The traditional NFL-focused telecast on ESPN with Trey Wingo, Louis Riddick, Kiper Jr., and others would remain, but there would be more personalized story-telling about the players and their families on ABC. The coverage would be as much about their journey as their ultimate destination on stage with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

With Roberts also interviewing celebrities like Nashville native, Taylor Swift, ABC’s coverage would also appeal to more casual fans.

Adding Disney’s ABC broadcast network would cancel out the breadth and reach of the Fox broadcast network. In short, the draft would no longer be an ESPN property. Instead, it would be a Disney property, enabling the integration of everything from “GameDay” to “GMA” to Marvel Entertainment into coverage.

That pitch won out. Outside of NFL Network, Disney scored exclusive rights to draft coverage in 2019 and again this year. The NFL’s press release states that for the second straight year “The Walt Disney Company has worked with the National Football League to offer a multi-network presentation for all seven rounds.” 

During a conference call, Herbstreit promised to again deliver what he described as the “college version” of the draft. 

“We’re not going to give you the inside scoop on what the Giants need to do – or what the Vikings need to,” Herbstreit said. “We’re really focused more on (No. 1 pick) Joe Burrow (of LSU) getting selected. We’re going to break down Joe Burrow and what our thoughts are on Joe Burrow, Tua (Tagovailoa of Alabama), or whoever it is.”

READ MORE: NFL Networks Face Web of Challenges for TV’s Primetime Return

That delivers a more well-rounded picture of the top prospects like Burrow, according to Brown, who’s worked for ESPN in between coaching gigs. 

“They watched them play, not only for one year, but through the recruiting process and their 3-5 years in college,” Brown said. “They bring a different perspective than someone who is looking at them only during this stage of their lives and where they might be drafted. These guys can tell a different story and take viewers behind the scenes.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

opinion

Brady Still Has Conflict of Interest. NFL Is Clearly Unconcerned

The league doesn’t see an issue with Brady being a minority owner.
opinion

NFL RedZone Changes Have Nothing to Do With ESPN Deal

Four 15-second spots will air over RedZone’s seven hours in Week 1.
Dec 21, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) gets ready to take the field prior to a game against the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

How Brazil Game Fits Into NFL’s Plans for World Domination

Friday night’s Chiefs-Chargers game in São Paulo is big by design.

3 ABC Games Top 10M Viewers Each in ESPN’s Record CFB Weekend

Miami–Notre Dame led the way with 10.8 million viewers.

Featured Today

Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) celebrate their touchdown pass during the second quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field.

TV Ratings Just Changed Again. The NFL Will Be the Big Winner

Nielsen’s new viewership system will have a big impact on sports.
Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates with offensive lineman Donovan Jackson (74) after a touchdown catch against Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the first quarter during the College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on January 20, 2025.
August 30, 2025

The Most Expensive Roster Year in College Football History

The House settlement created revenue-sharing—and a big NIL loophole.
August 26, 2025

‘You’re Going to Get Beat Up’: The Liberty’s All-Male Practice Squad

A select group suits up weekly to take on the defending champs.
August 24, 2025

The Honey Deuce Effect: How Tennis Perfected the Signature Cocktail

Sold every 1.5 seconds, they total more than $12 million in sales.

NFL’s Expected Early-Season Ratings Boost Gets Off to a Stormy Start

The kickoff game somewhat resembles the delays last year in an SNF game.
Eagles
September 4, 2025

The Death of Streameast Has Been Greatly Exaggerated

Mirror sites began popping up Thursday, the day the NFL season begins.
September 4, 2025

TNT Sports to Try Its Own Streaming App After WBD Split

TNT Sports will have its own app as a corporate split approaches.
Sponsored

Trailblazer Cal Calamia Is Racing for ‘Advocacy, Storytelling, and Performance’

The marathoner wants excellence—not just inclusion—to be the goal for non-binary athletes.
September 4, 2025

Bill Belichick’s UNC Debut Draws More Than 6M Viewers on ESPN

TCU-UNC was the fifth-most-watched college football game of Week 1.
September 3, 2025

Ohio State–Texas Showdown Was Most-Watched Week 1 CFB Game Ever

Fox drew 16.62 million viewers on Saturday afternoon.
September 2, 2025

NFL on Nielsen’s Latest Measurement Upgrade: ‘More Work to Be Done’

The league calls its relationship with the agency a “protracted journey.”
September 1, 2025

Lee Corso’s Farewell Delivers Record ‘College GameDay’ Viewership

ESPN averaged 3.5 million viewers, per preliminary figures.