ESPN has sought to get Peyton Manning as its “Monday Night Football” analyst for years. They’ve succeeded — albeit in a new, non-traditional way.
ESPN announced Monday that Peyton and Eli Manning will headline what the network calls a Monday Night Football “MegaCast” production. The brothers have agreed to do ten games a year for each of the next three seasons, which will air on ESPN2 alongside the traditional “Monday Night Football” broadcast on ESPN.
The network says the telecasts will originate from a remote location with both Manning brothers. They will be joined by a yet-to-be-determined host, as well as guest appearances from celebrities and both current and former athletes. The broadcast promises to be “a mix of in-the-moment analysis, big picture NFL dialogue, knee-jerk reaction, historical perspective, and more.”
Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions will co-produce the broadcasts with ESPN.
ESPN has served as the home of Peyton’s series “Peyton Places” and has sought to get him on game broadcasts for some time, with huge offers said to be on the table. Manning never took those, but he’s clearly comfortable doing this less traditional broadcast with his younger brother. Even though they won’t be occupying more traditional analyst roles, both Manning brothers should have some interesting insights to offer for whatever games they ultimately cover in this format.
