SI

What You Need to Know About ESPN Purchasing NFL Network

ESPN president Burke Magnus shared some insight into what will happen with NFL Network.
Jimmy Traina|
NFL Network is now owned by ESPN.
NFL Network is now owned by ESPN. | NFL Network

1. Over the weekend, news broke that ESPN’s purchase of NFL Network has been approved by government regulators.

What does that mean for you, the NFL fan?

We don’t know yet, and there’s still a lot to figure out, but ESPN president Burke Magnus shared some insight in late November when he joined me on SI Media With Jimmy Traina.

One thing viewers need to understand is that NFL Network will still exist as NFL Network. Obviously, with ESPN taking control, things will be different, but there will be some integration with ESPN talent.

“When we dive in and really start thinking about how we combine these two things in many ways, even though they’ll continue to be separate networks, what I hope is that it’s a ‘1 + 1 = 3’ situation,” Magnus said on the podcast. “They have a ton of talented voices over there that cover the NFL, we obviously do too. It’s a 24/7 endeavor for both of us at this point year-round with coverage of this league that is so popular and commands so much attention all day, every day. That’s gonna be a really exciting exercise to see how we can take the best of what they do and the best of what we do, create some overlaps and accrue to the benefit of NFL fans over time.”

Magnus added, “Good Morning Football in my estimation is the greatest success story on the NFL Network, period. So, it’s an exciting proposition to figure out what that looks like going forward and how they can contribute to what we do and vice versa.”

Will we see NFL Network and ESPN talent cross over from network to network?

“I think for sure,” said Magnus. “We don’t want to blend them to such a degree that their identities start to meld. I think the NFL Network has a very different brand and very different voice in many ways. We like that. That’s important. Take the draft for instance. I think what we do on the NFL draft and what they do the on the NFL draft is not identical and I think that’s a good thing. It stands to reason that talent would flow in both directions.”

One major thing that viewers will be interested to know about ESPN’s purchase of NFL Network is that this means there won’t be any more Monday Night Football doubleheaders or side-by-side games.

“When we take control of NFL Network, the doubleheaders will go away,” Magnus said. “The scheduling for both our games and their games changes. We’d go back to one game a week on Monday Night Football and there would be a schedule of games on NFL Network. So yeah, that’s part of the construct.”

When those NFL Network games would air is still TBD.

2. NBC went all out for its first Sunday Night Basketball broadcast last night. Bob Costas opened the show.

Caitlin Clark made her debut.

The game featured the two biggest markets in the Knicks and Lakers.

But at the end of the day—and this is not a knock on NBC in any way, shape or form—despite all the bells and whistles, Sunday Night Basketball is just another regular-season NBA game.

3. Anybody who has a job has made a mistake. People are going to make mistakes. That is life. But if you’re the person who put together a Black History Month appreciation post for the Chicago White Sox, HOW ON EARTH DO YOU OMIT FRANK THOMAS???

4. Marshawn Lynch is the guest on Bill Maher’s podcast this week. I’m embedding the clip below because it’s pretty SFW, but I have to link out to the best clip, by far, because it’s very NSFW.

5. I’m old enough to remember when athletes would regularly use the service formerly known as Twitter to get the attention of those they wanted to meet, so it was nice to see Rams wideout Puka Nacua give us a throwback over the weekend.

6. This week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with The Ringer’s Bryan Curtis about all the latest sports media news.

Topics discussed include: Mike Tirico calling his first Super Bowl for NBC, ratings for the AFC and NFC championship games, Tony Romo backlash, Tom Brady’s improvement as an analyst, the problem with NFL rules analysts, college football’s strong ratings despite being a mess off the field, ESPN’s promotion for next year’s Super Bowl, the state of podcasts, The Washington Post reportedly shutting down its sports section, Radio Row and more.

Following Curtis, SNY's Sal Licata joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we talked about the fallout from the massive snow storm that hit our areas, whether NFL playoff games should be played at a neutral site, blunders by Sean Payton and Sean McVay, Bill Belichick getting snubbed by the Hall of Fame, the Super Bowl and show recommendations.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: The weekend got off to a crappy start with the news of Catherine O’Hara’s passing. I’ve seen so many things that I’ve wanted to share, such as Macaulay Culkin’s Instagram tribute. And this insane video.

But nothing will top a Moira Rose compilation.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on X and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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