ESPN

ESPN is contemplating a pursuit of legendary play-by-player Al Michaels for Monday Night Football. The potential interest in returning Michaels, 77, to his TV football home — he was the longtime voice of MNF — comes as Michaels is deep into negotiations with Amazon Prime Video about becoming the main voice of its exclusive Thursday Night Football package that begins next fall, according to sources.

Due to concerns about COVID-19 and other COVID-related restrictions, ESPN will not be sending any news personnel to the Winter Olympics in China and will instead focus on covering the games remotely with a plan that will roll out prior to the beginning of competition next month. “The safety of our employees is of utmost importance to us,” said Norby Williamson, ESPN EVP, event and studio production and executive editor. “With the pandemic continuing to be a global threat, and with the COVID-related on-site restrictions in place for the Olympics that would make coverage very challenging, we felt that keeping our people home was the best decision for us.”

ESPN on Friday outlined a new strategy for its flagship Sunday Night Baseball, setting up Rodriguez and veteran sports commentator Michael Kay in a special flanker presentation of eight games on ESPN2 while enlisting David Cone in a new multi-year deal alongside Karl Ravech and Eduardo Perez for the original SNB. The plan appears to emulate what ESPN has done in the fall, broadcasting its regular Monday Night Football on its primary cable network while setting up the Manning brothers and guests ranging from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to David Letterman in a freewheeling bull session that plays off game action.

The spike in COVID-19 cases imperils as much as $400 million in college football playoff advertising for Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN sports network because of the growing risk games may be canceled, Bloomberg Intelligence estimated in a note Tuesday. A handful of games have already been called off, including the Hawaii, Military and Fenway bowls, because of the surging caseloads.

The two top teams in college basketball met Tuesday night as No. 1 Gonzaga faced No. 2 UCLA, but the highlight of the evening was legendary ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale returning to call the game after battling two separate forms of cancer this year, with his latest diagnosis coming just last month.

The Walt Disney Co. and the National Football League reached a five-year deal that will put a new Monday night wild card playoff game on ESPN and ABC, starting at the end of this year’s regular season. The Disney networks plan to use the game as part of a megacast that will include a simulcast on ESPN and ABC, with Peyton and Eli Manning hosting their popular alternative telecast on ESPN2 and ESPN Plus.

Disney’s strategic move into streaming conflicts with ESPN’s business, which profits handsomely from linear TV. ESPN probably won’t consider a direct-to-consumer service until the pay-TV bundle falls below 50 million U.S. households, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. ESPN’s near-term strategy is to incrementally increase the price of ESPN+, its limited streaming service, and add more content.

ESPN, Fox and other networks are ramping up their sports betting efforts.

Fans of ESPN’s Monday Night Football might get something next week they won’t be expecting — a tribute to hockey. The Disney-backed sports-media giant expects to spend part of its next halftime show treating viewers to a concert as well as a surprise visit from someone who is emblematic of the icy pastime, says Mark Gross, senior vice president of production and remote events, in an interview. He declined to name the person likely to appear. The weekly football showcase “exposes a large audience to the NFL and a larger audience” to a new NHL schedule slated to start the very next night, says the executive.

ESPN, NFL Network finish among top five most watched networks on strength of NFL telecasts.

Malika Andrews will replace Rachel Nichols as the face of ESPN’s regular NBA coverage, in a move executives no doubt hope will bring a difficult era at the Disney-backed sports-media giant to an end.

ESPN was named as a “must-have” cable channel most often in Beta Research’s latest poll of pay-TV subscribers. The station got the highest marks from 40% of Beta’s respondents. It was followed by Discovery Channel, Food Network, History, CNN, National Geographic, Weather Channel and Fox News Channel.

The National Hockey League and the Walt Disney Company will drop the puck on the first season of its seven-year multiplatform television deal by distributing more 100 exclusive, live NHL regular season games, nearly three-quarters of which will be offered through digital services ESPN Plus and Hulu.

The sports-media giant has held talks to license its brand to sportsbooks including Caesars Entertainment and DraftKings, according to people familiar with the matter.

ESPN is putting Rachel Nichols on the bench: The sports network has removed Nichols from its NBA coverage in the wake of controversial comments from her that leaked last month. ESPN has also cancelled The Jump, the daily basketball news show hosted by Nichols that debuted in 2016.