Tag: ABC

The Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton features a museum, and is also surrounded by the Hall of Fame Village development and entertainment campus, which features restaurants, a brewery, football stadium, sports dome, practice fields and a water park that is under construction.

Hall of Fame Game returns to ABC

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The 2024 Hall of Fame Game will be broadcast on Aug. 1 by ABC and ESPN.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame said Thursday this will be the first time ESPN has aired the game. It’s sister network, ABC, had rights to the Hall of Fame Game from 1971-2005.

This year’s preseason game in Canton, Ohio, will feature the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans.

ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” crew of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters will call the game.

Aikman, the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys from 1989-2000, was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2006.

–Field Level Media

Jan 8, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; The 2024 CFP logo on the field before the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Washington Huskies at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN to keep CFP broadcast rights through ’31

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The College Football Playoff is officially staying with ESPN and its family of networks.

ESPN announced a six-year, $7.8 billion deal to retain the media rights to the CFP through the 2031 season, concluding with the national title game in January 2032.

The deal was first reported in February, but it needed ratification after the playoff finalized its new format. The CFP will expand from four teams to 12 starting next season.

The CFP is extending its current deal with ESPN for two years (2024 and 2025) and giving ESPN the four new first-round games on top of the quarterfinals, semifinals and national championship game.

Beginning in 2026, ESPN’s new deal kicks in, and it encompasses all rounds of the playoff, which may expand to 14 teams by that time.

Further, the national championship game will be broadcast on ABC beginning in January 2027 (for the 2026 season), in addition to ESPN’s usual mega-cast of the game.

“ESPN has worked very closely with the College Football Playoff over the past decade to build one of the most prominent events in American sports,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement.

“We look forward to enhancing our valued relationship over the next two years, and then continuing it for six more as we embark on this new, expanded playoff era. This agreement further solidifies ESPN as the home of college football, as well as the destination for the vast majority of major college championships for the next eight years.”

According to The Athletic last month, ESPN will have the right to “sublicense” CFP games over the course of the contract to other media organizations or streamers.

–Field Level Media

Lee Corso waves while wearing a Brutus Buckeye head as, from left, Desmond Howard, Rece Davis, Archie Griffin, and Kirk Herbstreit applaud his pick during ESPN's College GameDay broadcast from the campus of Ohio State prior to the NCAA football game against the Michigan State Spartans in Columbus on Nov. 21, 2015. (Adam Cairns / The Columbus Dispatch)Osu15msu Ac 07

‘College GameDay’ to kick off at Ohio State-Notre Dame

Posted on | by Field Level Media

ABC will air a trio of high-profile college football games over Labor Day weekend, with ESPN kicking off its “College GameDay” coverage with Notre Dame’s visit to Ohio State on Sept. 3.

It’s the 21st visit all-time to Columbus, Ohio, by “GameDay” — more than any other city.

ABC begins game coverage with national champion Georgia, which will meet Oregon at 3:30 p.m. ET in Atlanta. It will represent a homecoming for new Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, who was the defensive coordinator on the Bulldogs’ title team.

That game will be followed by the seventh all-time meeting between Notre Dame and Ohio State at 7:30 p.m. The Buckeyes have won all four games played since 1995.

It marks another return for a new head coach. Marcus Freeman, hired to replace Brian Kelly at Notre Dame, played linebacker for the Buckeyes (2006-08) and began his coaching career there as a graduate assistant.

On Sept. 4, Kelly and his new team, LSU, will meet Florida State at the Superdome in New Orleans at 7:30 p.m. in the first meeting between the teams since 1991.

–Field Level Media

Mar 12, 2020; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey speaks on the cancelation of the SEC tournament at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

SEC, ESPN reach 10-year deal for football, basketball rights

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The Southeastern Conference and ESPN agreed on a 10-year deal beginning in 2024 that will make the network the exclusive rights holder of the league’s football and men’s basketball games, the two sides announced Thursday.

Though terms were not disclosed, ESPN’s annual fee is expected to be in the low $300 million range, according to multiple media reports. The SEC currently received $55 million from CBS as part of a deal that was made in 1996. The SEC-CBS contract runs through the 2023 season.

ESPN’s family of networks, including ABC, will gain up to 15 premier football games, highlighted by the SEC title game and big rivalries such as Georgia-Florida, Alabama-Auburn and LSU-Arkansas.

“This new agreement was born from a strong foundation which began almost 25 years ago and now reflects a shared vision of the future with the SEC, commissioner (Greg) Sankey and their member institutions,” Jimmy Pitaro, chairman, ESPN and sports content, said in a statement. “With all the conference’s games under the ESPN umbrella and adding ABC and ESPN+ to our distribution channels, ESPN will have complete scheduling flexibility, resulting in maximum exposure and adding significant benefits for SEC schools and fans.”

ABC will broadcast an SEC game every Saturday, including a regular late-afternoon kickoff, and will have the option to feature an SEC game on Saturday nights for the first time.

ABC also will air the SEC title game in the late afternoon, and ABC or ESPN will air a late-afternoon SEC game on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement, “This is a significant day for the Southeastern Conference and for the future of our member institutions. Our agreement with ESPN will greatly enhance our ability to support our student-athletes in the years ahead and to further enrich the game-day experience for SEC fans around the world.

“One of our primary goals was to improve the television-scheduling process in ways that will benefit our students, coaches, alumni and fans. By working in collaboration with ESPN, we were able to secure an agreement that includes more lead time for many game-time announcements, and in many ways modernizes the college football scheduling process.”

The deal also allows the SEC to announce kickoff times much earlier, even during the summer.

ESPN+ is guaranteed to stream one nonconference football game and two nonconference men’s basketball games per SEC school each season.

–Field Level Media