If you usually had a choice for your Monday Night Football pregame show, well, that’s gone. Done. For years, NFL fans had two different options to get hyped before kickoff. Now, you get one.
No More Choices For Your Monday Night Football Fix
ESPN’s longtime pregame show, *Monday Night Countdown*, is now being simulcast on *both* ESPN and NFL Network. This isn’t some random scheduling quirk, either. It’s a direct result of a big deal that made ESPN the owner of NFL Media. And get this: the NFL itself is now a 10 percent owner of ESPN. Yeah, you read that right.
Bottom Lines Over Fan Choice: What This Deal Really Means
It’s pretty obvious why the networks see this as a massive win. ESPN and the NFL think it’s a “good thing,” probably because it’s a huge cost-cutting move. They only have to produce one show instead of two, saving a ton of cash on production costs. Cha-ching for their bottom lines, right? But for us, the fans? Fewer choices is never a good thing. Seriously, some fans preferred the NFL Network pregame show, and that’s just gone now. Poof. And even if you were already watching *Monday Night Countdown*, there are legitimate concerns that these stronger ties between ESPN and the NFL could mean less independent coverage of the sport. We’re talking “more propaganda, less journalism,” according to some. Oof.
So yeah, this whole ESPN-NFL Media merger? It wasn’t about making our viewing experience better. It was purely for the money, saving production costs by slapping one show on two channels. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
Leave a Reply