ESPN is, for at least one week this season, really doubling down on “Monday Night Football.”
The Walt Disney-backed sports-media outlet plans to simulcast two different Monday-night games on December 11, its latest gridiron maneuver that has already seen the football-TV mainstay air on both ESPN and ABC for the bulk of the regular season in a bid to fill schedules during the recent Hollywood labor strikes.
A Monday-night game between the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants will kick off December 11 at 8:15 p.m. eastern, anchored by Troy Aikman and Joe Buck, with Lisa Salters on the sidelines. A game between the Tennessee Titans and the Miami Dolphins will start at the same time, televised via ESPN. ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes. Chris Fowler, Louis Riddick and Dan Orlovsky will call the game, with Laura Rutledge on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Peyton and Eli Manning will offer commentary on both games during the telecast of their regular ESPN2 program. The brothers will focus on a single game when the situation dictates. They will host a group of guests, and the show will have limited commercial breaks during the evening,.
Disney broadcast two games in a single night on two occasions earlier in the season, but the start times were staggered.
ESPN will run its usual coterie of pre-game programming, with “Monday Night Countdown,” “NFL Live” and “Monday Blitz” all on the schedule.
The programming stunt may offer viewers a preview of what ESPN might be able to do more regularly when it makes all of its programming more readily available to broadband consumers, something Disney has suggested could happen in 2025.
