Latest in ESPN

The XFL, which has been resurrected by WWE chief Vince McMahon as a bid to satisfy year-round viewer appetite for football, has announced multi-year deals with ESPN and FOX Sports to televise games in its inaugural 2020 season. Games will have broadcast slots each weekend on ABC and Fox, with carriage on cable via…

ESPN and ABC's coverage of the 2019 NBA Conference Semifinals is up 19 percent from last season in metered market ratings, according to Nielsen. Through five games, ESPN and ABC are averaging a 3.8 metered market rating. ESPN's coverage of Friday's quadruple overtime game, in which the Portland Trail Blazers defeated…

DAZN, the rising sports streaming operation headed by former ESPN chief John Skipper, has added a key exec from Skipper’s former regime, bringing in Jamie Horowitz as EVP of content for North America. Horowitz had been a consultant at DAZN since 2018. He was fired by Fox Sports in 2017 amid an investigation by the…

Gary Lang, a sports television producer whose career included stints at CBS Sports, ESPN and, most prolifically, Fox Sports, died April 21 after a brief illness at his home in Redondo Beach, California. He was 53. His death was announced by family friend Frank Marchesini, VP, Entertainment Public Relations, Showtime…

For its upcoming 50th anniversary season, ESPN’s Monday Night Football will bring back play-by-play voice Joe Tessitore and analyst Booger McFarland in the booth. Lisa Salters will remain a sideline reporter, and John Parry joins as a new officiating analyst. Gone will be McFarland’s controversial 12-foot crane, from…

ESPN has arrived at the same conclusion as many other magazine publishers in a challenged marketplace, deciding to halt publication of its monthly print edition in September after a 21-year run. The Disney unit did not rule out the possibility of putting out themed print issues in the future, but is moving away from…

DEVELOPING …"Today's presentation will show you where we're going, but also remind you that we are starting from a position of strength and optimism," Bob Iger announced at today’s Disney Investor Day on the 96-year old company's Burbank lot. "This is the first time that we've met with you since the Fox deal closed…

In a keynote conversation at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, Department of Justice antitrust chief Makan Delrahim pointed to a carriage impasse between the UFC and DirecTV as proof of AT&T’s monopoly power now that it owns WarnerMedia. Last month, ESPN signed an expanded deal with the UFC that makes the streaming platform…

ABC’s May 14 upfront presentation is expanding to include the network’s new corporate siblings following the completion of the Disney’s $71.5 billion acquisition of key Fox assets, including FX Networks and National Geographic Networks. The combined Walt Disney Company Upfront event on May 14 will feature ABC, ESPN, Fr…

ESPN+ has expanded and extended its rights deal with the UFC and will now be the exclusive distributor of the MMA league’s pay-per-view events in the U.S. through 2025. The deal also adds two years to a five-year streaming rights pact struck last May for a reported $150 million a year. ESPN also has linear rights to…

Ironically, a woman named after a baseball player will host ABC’s opening night presentation for the 2019 National Football League draft, marking its first coverage of the annual player dispersal. Good Morning America's Robin Roberts will be live from Nashville on Thursday, April 25 starting at 8 PM ET on ABC and via…

In an unusual arrangement, New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia will work as an analyst on ESPN TV and radio broadcasts during his final season in Major League Baseball. Sabathia announced last month that 2019 will be his final season. A former Cy Young Award winner and World Series champion, Sabathia has pitched for…