ESPN has agreed to a five-year media rights deal with the NFL to present Monday night wild-card playoff games during the first weekend of the playoffs, beginning this season.
The agreement includes the “ManningCast,” hosted by Peyton Manning and Eli Manning on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
ESPN will also televise a divisional-round playoff game starting in 2023 while continuing to air its Monday night wild-card game broadcast.
In March, ESPN retained its rights to “Monday Night Football” until 2033 in a deal valued at $2.6 billion per season.
The extension includes rights for ABC/ESPN to broadcast the Super Bowl in 2023 and 2026. ABC has not aired the Super Bowl since 2006.
- Each NFL playoff game in 2020 — excluding the Super Bowl — averaged more than 20 million viewers, ranking among the top-rated programs on television.
- Last season’s six-game wild-card round averaged roughly 24.3 million viewers.
- An average of 17.3 million television and digital viewers have tuned into NFL games this season, a 17% increase from last year – the highest figures in six years.
NFL broadcasters spent a total of $113 billion in March to acquire domestic media rights for the next decade.
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