It's Official: ESPN Gets MNF & NBC Gets Sunday Night Games

bachviet · 04-18-2005, 05:32 PM

I guess it's official now. I have ESPN so no problem for me but lots of pple are going to be pissed because they don't have cable/satellite.

Quote:

NBC breaks back into broadcasting NFL
Company pays $600 million for Sunday night games; ESPN gets MNF

Timothy A. Clary / AFP - Getty Images file
The last time NBC broadcasted the NFL, John Elway led the Broncos to a Super Bowl win over the Green Bay Packers in 1998.
The Associated Press
Updated: 6:06 p.m. ET April 18, 2005The NFL’s “Monday Night Football,” a hallmark of television sports programming since the days of Howard Cosell, is leaving ABC after 35 years for ESPN starting with the 2006 season.

The NFL’s new broadcast deal also brings football back to NBC for the first time in six years. NBC will take over the Sunday night games previously broadcast on ESPN, and plans to use a flexible scheduling model that ensures meaningful games will played in that slot late in the season.

The Monday night move to basic cable, which includes an earlier start time of 8:40 p.m. eastern, is expected to cost ESPN $1.1 billion over eight years, two sources familiar with the deals told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

NBC will get the Sunday night package for $600 million over six years, according to the sources. The network will also get the Super Bowl in 2009 and 2012 as part of the deal, one of the sources said.

The NFL will continue to show all cable games on free, over-the air television in home markets. That means that local stations will carry ESPN’s Monday night games in the cities of the teams involved.

The moves leave ABC — which reshaped sports broadcasting by turning football into a prime-time ratings draw with the advent of “Monday Night Football” in 1970 — as the only major network without NFL football.

ABC and ESPN are both subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Co. The deal with ESPN, which currently carries games every Sunday night and sometimes on Thursday, was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

“A great deal with the NFL is the best deal you can get in television,” said NBC sports chairman Dick Ebersol. He said the network hasn’t started working on finding anchors for the Sunday night broadcast.

“We’re celebrating for a day,” Ebersol said. “Then I’m sure we’ll get a lot of calls.”

Last month, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said during the NFL meetings in Hawaii that the Monday night move was a strong possibility. ABC, which has been losing money on the package despite high ratings, had been balking at the NFL’s asking price.

NBC has been struggling in prime-time this season, and even risks an unprecedented fall into fourth place in the ratings. ABC’s newfound ratings strength with “Desperate Housewives” on Sunday nights has been particularly damaging.

NBC will devote its entire Sunday night prime-time lineup to the NFL. The Sunday night games will start at 8:15 p.m. eastern and include flexible scheduling for the final seven weeks of the season, details of which will be developed by the league.

That issue has become more pressing since parity caused by the salary cap has resulted in teams moving up and down the standings annually, leaving bad teams that were strong the previous season in prime time and good teams that were bad the past season off of it.

CBS and Fox already have agreed to pay a total of $8 billion over six years for the rights to Sunday afternoon games.

The NFL is still considering an eight game late-season package of Thursday and Saturday night games on cable and satellite. Tagliabue has said the NFL’s own new network could show some or all of those games.

© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Linky

TofuNinja · 04-18-2005, 06:26 PM

WTF...... No monday night games... this sucks big time..... so all of us who do not have cable have to suffer.....

AmRivlin · 04-18-2005, 07:15 PM

WOW, what a change. Seems strange tho, I thought MNF had a higher viewing % because it was the only game, and was a week night, where everyone wants to chill after a long monday. Oh well. I guess ok.

whitak24 · 04-18-2005, 07:26 PM

i'm glad they're moving up the start time of MNF, although it sucks for all my west coast bruthas out there. but look at it this way -- it's way better to have to miss the first quarter because of an early first quarter than to potentially have to miss the dramatic end because it's 1am and you have an early meeting the next day.

gear02 · 04-18-2005, 07:58 PM

It did sound like ABC was desperate in ditching MNF...

But I have questions, if NBC got the variable scheduling for their Sunday Night package, did ESPN get it for the MNF?

What happens to the ESPN sunday night crew...those guys were far better than anyone on CBS...

bachviet · 04-18-2005, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gear02

It did sound like ABC was desperate in ditching MNF...

But I have questions, if NBC got the variable scheduling for their Sunday Night package, did ESPN get it for the MNF?

What happens to the ESPN sunday night crew...those guys were far better than anyone on CBS...

Switch to do MNF games instead.

gear02 · 04-18-2005, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bachviet

Switch to do MNF games instead.

uh...how about michaels and madden?

bachviet · 04-18-2005, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gear02

uh...how about michaels and madden?

Do NBC SNF games.

I am just bringing up an idea of what ESPN might do with its SNF commentators.

whitak24 · 04-19-2005, 02:24 AM

imo, the sunday night football commentators were horrible. i hope they get lost in the shuffle and don't get any other broadcasting jobs.

gear02 · 04-19-2005, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitak24

imo, the sunday night football commentators were horrible. i hope they get lost in the shuffle and don't get any other broadcasting jobs.

really? I thought it was better than CBS broadcasts which felt old and stale and more interesting that MNF games (Madden is a bore). But I guess everyone has their own opinions.

I've been reading around and here's more information that I've gathered.

NBC, CBS, and Fox will get flexible scheduling since it's easy to move times on Sunday. ESPN on Monday will not.

NBC hasn't decided about its crew yet. It's not known whether Bob Costas wants to take over. Madden and Michaels might move to NBC or go to ESPN. It looks like the ESPN Sunday night crew might be disbanded.

TofuNinja · 04-19-2005, 09:01 AM

Well I think we all get one more year of MNF on ABC, I read in the OC Register that the changes won't take place until 2006. I'll go look for the link

Quote:

Originally Posted by OCregister.com

NFL TV deal nets big moves, money
NBC returns with Sunday night games. Monday Night Football moves to ESPN.

By MICHAEL LEV
The Orange County Register

NBC is in. ABC is out. And "Monday Night Football" has a new home.

Such is the fallout of the NFL's new prime-time television packages, announced Monday. The new deals go into effect in 2006.

http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/0...cle_486735.php

direct link, but you may have to register with their website... no idea.

Airencracken · 04-19-2005, 10:11 AM

it's a good thing football sucks.

j/k

gear02 · 04-19-2005, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TofuNinja

Well I think we all get one more year of MNF on ABC, I read in the OC Register that the changes won't take place until 2006. I'll go look for the link

http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/2005/0...cle_486735.php

direct link, but you may have to register with their website... no idea.

Yeah. I was speaking what happens afterwards.

I hope MNF doesn't make this season into one long goodbye...that gets annoying...

sizemic1 · 04-19-2005, 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gear02

uh...how about michaels and madden?

I hope they stay on..they don't really make or break the game for me...but if I have to listen to Paul McGuire bitch, moan, complain, and tell me every little thing that's wrong with some players attitude, technique, game plan, dinner, etc... I'll shoot myself. He's the main reason why I don't watch ESPN football broadcasts to begin with!

dbax791 · 04-19-2005, 11:48 PM

The interesting point of the deal is the flexible scheduling.

I wonder how that is going to fly with Fox and CBS when NBC pulls a premier Sunday game from them to show in prime-time on their network.

gear02 · 04-19-2005, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dbax791

The interesting point of the deal is the flexible scheduling.

I wonder how that is going to fly with Fox and CBS when NBC pulls a premier Sunday game from them to show in prime-time on their network.

I think I heard that Fox and CBS gets first dibs.

TofuNinja · 04-20-2005, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gear02

Yeah. I was speaking what happens afterwards.

I hope MNF doesn't make this season into one long goodbye...that gets annoying...

yeah... that would suck big time....

04-18-2005, 06:26 PM	#2
TofuNinja Rear Admiral Upper Half Join Date: May 2000 Location: On Serenity Posts: 3,503	WTF...... No monday night games... this sucks big time..... so all of us who do not have cable have to suffer..... __________________ "To search for the old is to understand the new." -Gichin Funakoshi- ===>>>LABELED CANTACUZENE'S DUMBEST PERSON ALIVE!!!<<<===

04-18-2005, 07:15 PM	#3
AmRivlin Rear Admiral Lower Half Join Date: May 2000 Location: Singapore Posts: 2,061	WOW, what a change. Seems strange tho, I thought MNF had a higher viewing % because it was the only game, and was a week night, where everyone wants to chill after a long monday. Oh well. I guess ok. __________________ Got\|Apex Senior Experienced Poster SEP

04-19-2005, 10:11 AM	#12
Airencracken Admiral Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: California Posts: 6,681	it's a good thing football sucks. j/k __________________ "I remember my first orgasm, I just wish someone was there to share it with me..."11-05-2003 05:33 AM - Topane They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, & the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opiate of the masses. - Karl Marx Hell is other people - Jean-Paul Sartre

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04-18-2005, 07:26 PM	#4
whitak24 easily amused Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: my office Posts: 9,781	i'm glad they're moving up the start time of MNF, although it sucks for all my west coast bruthas out there. but look at it this way -- it's way better to have to miss the first quarter because of an early first quarter than to potentially have to miss the dramatic end because it's 1am and you have an early meeting the next day.

04-18-2005, 07:58 PM	#5
gear02 Admiral Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 7,223	It did sound like ABC was desperate in ditching MNF... But I have questions, if NBC got the variable scheduling for their Sunday Night package, did ESPN get it for the MNF? What happens to the ESPN sunday night crew...those guys were far better than anyone on CBS...

04-19-2005, 02:24 AM	#9
whitak24 easily amused Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: my office Posts: 9,781	imo, the sunday night football commentators were horrible. i hope they get lost in the shuffle and don't get any other broadcasting jobs.

04-19-2005, 11:48 PM	#15
dbax791 Rear Admiral Lower Half Join Date: Feb 2000 Location: Arizona Posts: 2,177	The interesting point of the deal is the flexible scheduling. I wonder how that is going to fly with Fox and CBS when NBC pulls a premier Sunday game from them to show in prime-time on their network.

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