ESPN and NFL Network are joining forces for the draft broadcast, with the same feed ending up on both channels. It’s becoming more and more clear as the draft approaches that ESPN is taking the show over.
Per multiple sources, the combined ESPN/NFLN draft telecast essentially will be an ESPN production. As noted by Andrew Marchand of the New York Post noted recently, it’s expected that most of the on-air contributions will come from ESPN employees, with a far more limited group of NFL Network talent adding to the broadcast. Beyond Rich Eisen, Kurt Warner, and Daniel Jeremiah, there’s a chance that most if not all of the rest of the NFL Network reporters and analysts will have the weekend off.
Of course, they’ll continue to churn out content in other areas, and the Twitter chase for scoops could get interesting, with NFL Network’s reporters incessantly trying to one-up ESPN’s five-minute-head’s-up army.
Regardless, don’t expect to see many/any of the NFLN newsbreakers on ESPN or NFLN during the three days of the draft. The current plan is for ESPN to run the show.
Whether those plans change in the next 12 days remains to be seen.
