• Loading stock data...
Saturday, October 12, 2024
The Best Employers in Sports survey is now open! Take the survey

ESPN Will Cover Super Bowl Like It’s Never Been Covered Before

ESPN
Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

NEW YORK — Super Bowl LXI is 2.5 years away. But ESPN has already started game-planning how it will produce and televise its first Big Game, noted president of content Burke Magnus. Since its founding in 1979, ESPN has dreamed of landing a Super Bowl. During the most recent NFL rights negotiation, ESPN finally cracked the Big Game rotation, scoring the rights to two Super Bowls after the 2026 and 2030 seasons. ESPN’s first two Super Bowl telecasts will be simulcast on sister Disney network ABC. (ABC televised 2006’s Super Bowl XL in Detroit, but that game was produced under the aegis of the old ABC Sports.)

ESPN never does anything halfway. Magnus said the network wants to cover the Super Bowl like it’s never been covered before when the day finally arrives Feb. 14, 2027. The game will also be played in Disney’s backyard in Los Angeles.

Start with the primary Super Bowl telecast itself. One of the reasons ESPN lured Troy Aikman and Joe Buck away from Fox with five-year contracts worth a whopping $95 million and $65 million, respectively, was their Super Bowl gravitas. They called six Super Bowls at Fox, more than any broadcast duo outside of the late John Madden and Pat Summerall. They’re the best NFL announce team in the business, in my book. 

Alternate Telecasts and Pregame Ambitions

Then there are Peyton and Eli Manning. Magnus “for sure” wants the Super Bowl–winning brothers to create a ManningCast on ESPN2. Besides the Mannings, ESPN will also likely offer a “MegaCast”-like slate of viewing options, similar to its approach with the College Football Playoff national championship. Given the critical acclaim for Disney’s Toy Story Funday Football telecast last season, I think it’s a lock that the Mouse House will offer a kids-focused version of the Big Game.

ESPN is also exploring new ideas that haven’t been tried by Super Bowl broadcasters Fox, CBS, and NBC. Since CBS’s Super Bowl pregame programming ran seven hours, I asked Magnus for the over/under on ESPN’s first Super Bowl pregame show. He laughed. “Seven days,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Magnus has created a full-time job that might get a few clicks on LinkedIn. Namely, ESPN is seeking a vice president of the Super Bowl, whose only job will be everything and anything related to ESPN/Disney’s production of Super Bowl LXI. 

“It was very, very important to me that we had a person, and a small team of people built around this leader, who are fully dedicated,” explained Magnus. “As I like to say, get out of bed every morning thinking about that Super Bowl—and only that. So that they can keep everything moving in that direction. Because really what we want to do is bring everything that the Walt Disney Co., ESPN, ABC, etc., have—and bring it all to coverage of that game. We want to redefine what covering a Super Bowl looks like. We have, in many ways, the luxury of not having an imprint in people’s minds of what that might look like since we haven’t ever been there.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

ESPN Expands ‘Monday Night Football’ on ABC With Six Additional Games

The 2024 slate of dual-network NFL coverage now looks much more like last year’s.
Oct 4, 2021; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden talks with quarterback Derek Carr (4) during the second half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium.

As Jon Gruden Cranks Out TikToks, He Notches Legal Win Against NFL

Gruden has served as a coaching consultant since leaving the Raiders.
skip bayless talking
opinion

McCarthy: Bayless Delusional About Sharpe Divorce

Bayless said he had nothing to do with Sharpe’s departure and the demise of “Undisputed.”

ESPN’s Bold Future: Pitaro Unveils Ambitious Sports Streaming Plans

The current network chair also continued to downplay a much-used former slogan.
podcast thumbnail mobile
Front Office Sports Today

Inside CFB’s Biggest Day of the Year

0:00

Featured Today

Sep 21, 2024; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) walks through Buff Walk before the game against the Baylor Bears at Folsom Field.
opinion

The NIL Era Is a Wild West. Is Anyone Surprised?

Amateurism is dead and college athletes are professionals. How’s that working out?
October 11, 2024

‘We’re Ready for FBS’: Sacramento State Is Serious About the Jump

How the Hornets got themselves on the short list of potential call-ups.
Duante' Abercrombie News Ch.4 interview
October 9, 2024

Tennessee State’s Ambitious Plan to Launch an HBCU Hockey Program

TSU has big plans, but the university is facing an existential dilemma.
October 8, 2024

Ryan Smith Sees Salt Lake City As Next Vegas-Like Sports Town

Utah Hockey Club’s owner says all the pieces are falling into place.

Cam Newton Joins ‘First Take,’ Where His Opinions Should Fit Right In

ESPN has hired the 2015 NFL MVP as a contributor to “First Take.”
exclusive
October 7, 2024

Shams Charania Joins ESPN

Charania will succeed Adrian Wojnarowski, who left ESPN last month.
exclusive
October 8, 2024

Seth Davis Launching Paywalled Hoops Site

The veteran reporter is launching a start-up media company called “Hoops HQ.”
Sponsored

Rivalries Reign Across Red River and the Beltway, London Calling

According to data from TickPick, renewed battles between bitter foes are spiking ticket prices.
October 4, 2024

Wild-Card Round Sets Ratings Record

The Mets and Brewers helped drive ESPN to record wild-card TV audiences.
October 4, 2024

NBA Media’s Changing of the Guard

Among other issues, networks are trying to figure out a post-LeBron coverage plan.
exclusive
September 30, 2024

Schefter Could Succeed Woj As NBA Insider

Schefter is ESPN’s senior NFL insider. Sources say he’s a candidate to add NBA reporting.
September 27, 2024

Cowboys-Giants on Amazon Is Most-Streamed Reg Season NFL Game

Cowboys-Giants averaged 16.22M viewers on Amazon Prime.