ESPN's NFL Media acquisition would reportedly bring an end to 'Monday Night Football' doubleheaders Jason Owens October 20, 2025 at 5:57 PM 0 If approved, ESPN's acquisition of select NFL Media properties would spell the end of doubleheaders on "Monday Night Football," Front Office Sports reported M...
- - ESPN's NFL Media acquisition would reportedly bring an end to 'Monday Night Football' doubleheaders
Jason Owens October 20, 2025 at 5:57 PM
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If approved, ESPN's acquisition of select NFL Media properties would spell the end of doubleheaders on "Monday Night Football," Front Office Sports reported Monday.
FOS published the report ahead of Monday's "MNF" doubleheader. The Detroit Lions will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 7 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN), and the Seattle Seahawks will host the Houston Texans at 10 p.m. ET (ESPN).
The "MNF" doubleheader is the last of the 2025 season and potentially the last ever if the deal between ESPN and the NFL is approved. The deal that was announced in August still requires federal regulatory approval.
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If approved, ESPN would acquire select NFL Media holdings, including NFL RedZone and NFL Network from the NFL in exchange for a 10% stake in ESPN that would potentially be worth billions of dollars.
Under the agreement, ESPN would ditch the "MNF" doubleheaders despite expanding its rights package from 25 to 28 games with the deal, per FOS. ESPN would take over the rights to three games that were previously owned by NFL Network. The NFL would retain rights to four other games that previously aired on NFL Network and take them to market, per the report.
Per FOS, all 28 games in ESPN's rights package would be broadcast in guaranteed standalone windows on ESPN and NFL Network. Some of the ESPN games would be simulcast on ABC. ESPN/ABC would air 21 games, while seven would air on NFL Network.
When would the games be broadcast?
With more games and the elimination of doubleheaders on Mondays, where would the extra games fit? Per FOS, ESPN would air 17 standalone "Monday Night Football" games each week except the last of the regular season, a traditional doubleheader on Saturday in Week 18 without overlapping games and two playoff games to reach its total of 21 games.
The seven remaining games under its purview would broadcast on NFL Network, including international and late-season Saturday matchups, per FOS.
The decision to eliminate "Monday Night Football" doubleheaders would likely be met with approval from fans as the doubleheader schedule tends to present headaches for viewers. As of now, the games are either scheduled to overlap or to be staggered with the late game ending well after midnight in the Eastern time zone, as is the case with Monday's Texans-Seahawks game.
Per FOS, the ESPN-NFL deal would need to be approved sometime in the spring for the new schedule and game distribution to take effect for the 2026 season.
Source: "AOL Sports"
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