{"id":722278,"date":"2026-02-01T21:27:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T21:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/722278\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T21:27:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T21:27:15","slug":"nfl-and-espn-close-deal-giving-disney-unit-control-of-nfl-network-other-media-assets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/722278\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL And ESPN Close Deal Giving Disney Unit Control Of NFL Network, Other Media Assets"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tThe <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/tag\/nfl\/\" id=\"auto-tag_nfl\" data-tag=\"nfl\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NFL<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/tag\/espn\/\" id=\"auto-tag_espn\" data-tag=\"espn\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ESPN<\/a> have closed a deal that will see the <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/tag\/nfl-network\/\" id=\"auto-tag_nfl-network\" data-tag=\"nfl-network\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NFL Network<\/a> and other league media assets controlled by the <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/tag\/disney\/\" id=\"auto-tag_disney\" data-tag=\"disney\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Disney<\/a> sports division.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tIn exchange for its assets, the NFL is taking a 10% stake in ESPN. Hearst retains the 20% position in the sports operation it has had since 1990.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\t\u201cThe NFL and ESPN are pleased to announce the official closing of the sale of NFL Network and other <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/tag\/nfl-media\/\" id=\"auto-tag_nfl-media\" data-tag=\"nfl-media\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NFL Media<\/a> assets to ESPN,\u201d the league and ESPN said in a joint statement provided to Deadline. \u201cWith the closing, we will begin integrating NFL employees into ESPN in the months ahead.\u00a0As we look to the future, NFL fans can look forward to expanded NFL programming, greater access to NFL Network, innovative fantasy experiences and unparalleled coverage of America\u2019s most popular sport.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tThe Athletic had the first report of the regulatory approval on Saturday night.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tThe transaction was <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/The%20NFL%20and%20ESPN%20have%20closed%20a%20deal%20that%20will%20see%20the%20NFL%20Network%20and%20other%20league%20media%20assets%20controlled%20by%20the%20Disney%20sports%20division.\" target=\"_blank\">announced last August<\/a> as uncertainty was increasing about the regulatory approval process in the media business. (Paramount and Skydance were about to finalize their merger after a long odyssey, and eight-figure payouts by Disney, Paramount and other companies to settle lawsuits by the Trump Administration were raising the specter of appeasement.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tViewers and subscribers won\u2019t notice any changes between now and April, which is when the agreement is due to take full effect. Over the course of 2026, NFL Network will be integrated into ESPN\u2019s stand-alone streaming service. NFL\u2019s RedZone will be distributed by ESPN to pay-TV providers starting with the 2026 season, and will continue to be available as a direct-to-consumer offering through the premium tier of NFL+.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-margin-lr-auto     \">\n\tAn unspecified number of NFL employees, including on-air talent, will become ESPN employees starting in April. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NFL and ESPN have closed a deal that will see the NFL Network and other league media&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":722279,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[16207,12,7,68605,49,48,6,26300,126],"class_list":{"0":"post-722278","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-disney","9":"tag-espn","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-mergers-and-acquisitions","12":"tag-ncaa","13":"tag-ncaa-football","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-nfl-media","16":"tag-nfl-network"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115997497584516923","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=722278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/722278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/722279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=722278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=722278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=722278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}