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Nick Saban Joins Manningcast In Week 3

“The brothers are aiming to keep their strong Week 2 momentum rolling after averaging 1.9 million viewers last Monday.”

Russ Heltman

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A photo of the Monday Night Football with Peyton & Eli logo
Courtesy: ESPN

The Manning brothers have brought on some heavy-hitting guests over the first two weeks of their ESPN Monday Night Football alternate broadcast. That theme isn’t changing anytime soon as the duo gets set to welcome Alabama Football head coach Nick Saban to their Week 3 show.

The appearance is aptly timed with Nick Saban and Alabama facing another SEC test this weekend when they match up with Ole Miss. Former Rebels quarterback Eli Manning and Peyton are having Saban on for the majority of a full quarter during Monday night’s game.

The Cowboys-Eagles matchup features plenty of Saban’s NFL connections. Five former Crimson Tide standouts are starting in the game, including, quarterback Jalen Hurts, who started at Alabama for 2 years before moving to Oklahoma, wide receiver DeVonta Smith, offensive lineman Landon Dickerson, wide receiver Amari Cooper, and cornerback Trevon Diggs. 

Former assistants from Saban’s tenure with Alabama are on display as well. Doug Nussmeier (Cowboys quarterbacks coach), Jeff Stoutland (Eagles offensive line coach), and Joe Pannunzio (Eagles assistant special teams coordinator) all worked with Saban at one point or another.

In the alternate broadcasts’ first two weeks, Charles Barkley, Russell Wilson, and Brett Favre made up a few of the names to pop in to talk football with the Manning brothers. Fans and critics alike are praising the conversations as a whole new way to get these athletes into a relaxed environment.

Eli Manning and Nick Saban have some established history with each other already. The younger Manning followed in his older brother’s footsteps with Eli’s Places, a spin-off of Peyton’s Places. Eli spent one of the episodes hanging out with Saban for a lake day tubing on his boat.

The brothers are aiming to keep their strong Week 2 momentum rolling after averaging 1.9 million viewers last Monday. The figure made their second go-round the highest-watched alternate broadcast ever aired on an ESPN platform. 

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Final ‘Good Morning Football’ Episode from New York Studio Airs Before Hiatus, Move to LA

After today, ‘Good Morning Football’ will take a brief hiatus, then move to LA. But outside of host Jamie Erdahl, who else will join the show on the West Coast?

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Good Morning Football

Today marks the last Good Morning Football episode to air from its New York studios on NFL Network. After today, the show will take a brief hiatus, then move across the country to Los Angeles. But which of the shows beloved cast members will move along with it?

We already know host Jamie Erdahl will be there once she gives birth to her child. The newest GMFB show member gave an emotional send-off to the show’s New York studios before announcing she was headed for maternity leave and would see everyone in LA.

Host Kyle Brandt delivered this message late last night, saying that viewers should tune in to he and his colleagues and that “he has a lot to say.”

As the show ended today, Brandt said, “I am not saying goodbye to any of you…Candidly, I have a lot of questions myself. Here’s what I know: I personally will be intensely involved in Good Morning Football moving forward. And I want to spend the rest of my career with the NFL. And Good Morning Football is not ending, it is expanding. And it’s exciting because it’s a bigger show and it’s more show…It’s all in and it’s all happening and yes, we will be covering the draft. GMFB is leaving home for college…it’s time to evolve. And we are flattered that you are wondering and maybe worried about what’s coming next with the show…I am very proud of what we have built here…it has been a dream job and I know we are going to make a fantastic show from Los Angeles…I’ll see you this summer.”

Earlier this week host Peter Schrager delivered his own goodbye message — one that may sound like a man who’s not ready to move his family across the country at a moment’s notice:

However, no hosts outside of Erdahl have given confirmation that they’re either staying or going.

The NFL’s move to take the show from New York to Los Angeles has been widely criticized by fans and media members alike. Bill Simmons wondered if the move wouldn’t spell just the end of GMFB but the NFL Network as a whole. It has some wondering if this is the end of football’s best show.

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ESPN Coverage of Men’s NIT Tournament Quarterfinals Up 33% vs. 2023

Viewership of the Men’s NIT Quarterfinals on ESPN were up 33 percent compared to last year and featured two games that averaged over one million viewers.

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Even the NIT is riding the recent hot streak of live sports viewership numbers. According to data provided by ESPN, the 2024 NIT Quarterfinals are up 33 percent compared to last year’s tournament. Perhaps more surprisingly, two NIT quarterfinal games topped one million viewers.

The network’s Georgia/Ohio State matchup averaged 1.03 million viewers, while the Cincinnati/Indiana State contest averaged 1.02 million viewers. These two games were the most-watched NIT games since 2017 — including title games. Both Georgia and Ohio State have rabid fanbases, while many thought Indiana State was unjustly left out of the March Madness tournament, which could be a reason why viewers tuned in.

Much of the focus this season has been on the women’s game, thanks to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, led by Dawn Staley. ESPN just had its most-watched women’s college basketball season since 2008-09 because of the increased interest in the women’s game. The men’s game, however, hasn’t been heralded as much this season for whatever reason, mostly because numbers seem to be holding steady compared to previous years. However, if the NIT is posting viewership wins, that should bode well for the NCAA Tournament’s incoming viewership totals.

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Report: NFL to Put Christmas Day Doubleheader Up For Bids

Bidding is expected to start at $50 million among the current NFL media partners but some think the games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

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The NFL will reportedly put its Christmas Day games up for auction, allowing its current media partners to bid for the games. Now, it’s up to CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video to pay up for rights to one of these two marquee games.

According to Front Office Sports Michael McCarthy, preference will be given to linear networks, so Prime Video and Peacock may sit this one out. Bidding is expected to start at $50 million but McCarthy and his sources expect that number to rise. John Kosner, the former ESPN executive, thinks the new Christmas Day games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

The NFL announced a Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader during its annual league meetings. The league originally said it wouldn’t force games on Christmas Day if the holiday fell on an odd day of the week, though as the NFL continues to put games on days outside of Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays, we’re running out of days that don’t feature NFL football.

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