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The NFL likes to experiment with TV windows, airing games in early and late afternoon, primetime, and even early morning from London.
The Walt Disney Co. and the NFL will take another step tonight when they telecast two “Monday Night Football” games with “overlapping action” and “staggered” kickoff times.
Here’s the game plan.
ESPN/ESPN2 will telecast Tennessee Titans vs. Buffalo Bills at 7:15 p.m. ET while ABC/ESPN+ will show Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles at 8:30 p.m ET.
ESPN has shown ‘MNF’ doubleheaders in past seasons. But those games previously had back-to-back TV windows, kicking off at either 7 and 10 p.m. ET or 4:30 and 8:15 p.m. ET.
Instead, sister Disney networks ESPN and ABC aim to create more than four hours of integrated, nonstop action tonight.
Their dual-game telecasts will actually overlap for one half of football, or about 90 minutes. Both should be done by midnight.
What’s behind the strategy?
ESPN and the NFL are trying to find a TV sweet spot for ‘MNF’ primetime doubleheaders.
As part of Disney’ $2 billion annual rights deal with the NFL, ESPN will get three ‘MNF’ doubleheaders next season.
In the past, the early 7 p.m. ET games lost some viewers on the West Coast who were still at work at 4 p.m. PT. Conversely, the 10 p.m. ET kickoffs lost viewers on the East Coast who were in bed by 1 a.m. ET.
By having the two games overlap, ESPN and the NFL want to maximize their TV audience — and create a “Sunday Afternoon” environment in primetime.
“We’re trying to learn a little bit. We want to see how the audience reacts — and see how it goes,” said NFL spokesman Alex Riethmiller.
More details on tonight’s overlapping MNF telecasts:
- ESPNs ‘MNF’ “B” team of Steve Levy, Louis Riddick, Dan Orlovsky, and Laura Rutledge will call Titans-Bills from Buffalo. ESPN’s expensive new ‘MNF’ broadcast booth of Troy Aikman, Joe Buck, and Lisa Salters will call Vikings-Eagles from Philadelphia.
- Officiating analyst John Parry will work both games. Suzy Kolber will host halftime coverage of both games. Analyst Booger McFarland and Inside Adam Schefter will offer news, analysis, and info on the halftime shows.
- Starting at 8:30 pm ET, ESPN and ABC will keep viewers updated on the other game via live look-ins, double-box views, smaller and less prominent score boxes, and game updates from “SportsCenter” anchor Scott Van Pelt.
But this will not be “NFL RedZone” whipping back and forth between games. Each play of each game will be televised in full. At the conclusion of Eagles-Vikings, Van Pelt will lead postgame coverage across Disney networks.
“It’s an opportunity to do something different. We’ll see if it resonates with viewers,” Riethmiller added.
The NFL is off to a strong start for the 2022 season, with the league drawing its biggest Week 1 audiences since 2016. Over the next two seasons, the league will also expand its game offerings on new days such as Christmas Day and Black Friday.
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