ManningCast Staying Put At ESPN With New Deal For Peyton Manning

Disney CEO Bob Chapek said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call Wednesday that ESPN has extended its contract with Peyton Manning and his Omaha Productions that means ESPN2’s alt-Monday Night Football show Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli will continue through 2024.

The new pact also calls for alternative presentations (with other hosts) for UFC, college football and golf to be produced by Omaha Productions in collaboration with ESPN.

Manning co-hosts the live show with his brother Eli Manning, with both appearing remotely along with a rotation of guests to provide live commentary on ESPN’s MNF feed. Guests have included former and currently NFL players and other celebrities. It has proven a strong performer for ESPN, which made sure to lock in the show with rival outlets like Amazon, the new owner of Thursday Night Football rights, seeking complementary NFL content.

ESPN says Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli averaged 1.6 million viewers over nine games this season, passing 1.9 million viewers on three occasions.

The deal expands the original three-year agreement inked in July 2021 called for 30 games over three seasons through 2023. That was an expansion of a 2019 deal that saw the launch of Peyton’s Places on ESPN+, produced by NFL Films.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli and the partnership we’ve developed with Peyton, Eli and the team at Omaha Productions,” said Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content. “This new agreement allows us to deepen our relationship and explore original concepts to spread that magic to other sports and events. Ultimately, this will help grow our audience by providing fans with even more creative options that they crave.”

Earlier in the day, Chapek confirmed to CNBC’s Julia Boorstin that Disney is “bidding” for the NFL Sunday Ticket package, which will be up for grabs after its rights deal at DirecTV expires after the 2002-2023 NFL season. It’s likely that ESPN+ would become Sunday Ticket’s new home if they make the deal.

Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli is produced by ESPN in conjunction with Omaha Productions.